Self Esteem Podcast—Week 1—Self Compassion

“Often what we call ‘thinking’ is merely recycling the opinions of others.”—Nathaniel Branden This is the first of seven podcasts in the Self Esteem And The Art Of Self Acceptance series being delivered at Imago Dei. Here’s some of the stuff we covered in this episode: “The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.” ― Mark Twain Conceit is whitewash to cover low self esteem. With high self esteem you don’t waste time and energy impressing others. You already know you have value Scripture assumes self love Acceptance is unconditional and based on value. Approval is conditional Acknowledge that we are flawed and broken Three Core Components Of Self Compassion Treating ourselves with kindness instead of harsh self judgment. Recognize our common Humanity Mindfulness and not trying to change the things we can’t Number one reason… we believe we need our self criticism to MOTIVATE ourselves. In reality, when we criticize ourselves, we are tapping into the body’s self defense system. Becks Depression Triad The self as worthless The outer world as meaningless The future as hopeless Depressed people feel as if they deserve to be punished. Core Christian Tools For Self Compassion Who We Are In Christ A fair and righteous judge Relationship—Having someone know our flaws and still accept us is the number one therapeutic tool. Conclusion People who experienced self-compassion were more likely to see their weaknesses as CHANGEABLE. Self-compassion—far from taking them off the hook—actually increased their motivation to improve and avoid the same mistake again in the future.