Self-compassion heals the soul
Self-compassion is offering yourself kindness and understanding, especially during times of adversity. It is relating to the self in a way that is forgiving, loving and accepting.
The ways in which we have learned to relate to ourselves can have such powerful impacts on our lives. Things like the quality of our internal self-talk, behaviors including self-care and coping patterns, attitudes about ourselves, awareness of our needs and feelings, and our self-expectations affect us in so many ways. Our relationship to ourselves can also determine and reinforce our sense of self-worth, beliefs about our potential in life, overall disposition, stress-levels, motivations, relationship patterns, habits, physical health implications, behaviors and much more.
For many people, utilizing self-compassion is not yet an automatic skill-set. It can take effort to overcome barriers to self-compassion, and to cultivate the ability to easily align with ones-self in order to validate and honor one’s experience. Self-compassion is the foundation for self-acceptance. Self-compassion also makes it possible to tolerate personal authenticity. When processing vulnerable and difficult feelings, being able to interpret oneself and one’s experiences neutrally and non-judgmentally is essential. The great news is that self-compassion is a skill that everyone can develop and it can be practiced in a variety of ways.