Practice Self-Compassion Like Your Life Depends Upon It. It Does.

You cannot shame or bully yourself into wholeness. My inner critic was vicious. It bullied me, held me back, pointed out all my flaws 24/7, and told me I was never good enough. No matter how hard I worked, I could never keep up or measure up.When my third child was born, 18 years ago, I held her little body in my arms and realized in that moment that for her sake and mine, I would never again bully or berate my body or myself. I made the decision and then I had to practice.Some Key Ideas:Compassion needs to be bidirectional.Falling down, making mistakes, or being messy is not the problem. Staying down, or staying mired in shame and judgment is a problem.Self-Compassion has 3 components: mindfulness, self-kindness, common humanity.Fear and the Inner Critic are not against you - they are simply trying to protect you but in maladaptive ways (or ways that no longer serve you).Safety is required for us to be in a position to hear, grow, heal, build a new pattern.Links/References: Kristin Neff: Self-Compassion3/2/1 Exercise: 3 Purposeful Questions I Ask Myself Each Night as Part of a Simple Evening Routine | (alifeinprogress.ca)Befriend Your Inner Critic Workshop: Sep 6, 2023 Befriend Your Inner Critic Workshop | A Life In ProgressHow To Befriend My Inner Critic and Quiet Its Noise: How to Befriend my Inner Critic and Quiet its Noise | (alifeinprogress.ca)Tender Self-Compassion: Self-Compassion Will Help You Become Your Own Best Friend | (alifeinprogress.ca)Fierce Self-Compassion: How to Practice Fierce Self-Compassion to Get Unstuck | (alifeinprogress.ca)