You Are Already Enough EP 328

This is for the today version of you and me too.  Not future you or future me. Not the version of you that has it all figured out, hits every goal, and never forgets to reply to emails. This is for right now you. Exactly as you are, in whatever state you've arrived in today. Let’s chat about self-compassion, which, fair warning, is the thing that sounds like a luxury but is actually a survival skill. Somewhere along the way, self-compassion, self-love somehow has come to mean a spa day which I like as much as anyone. The more I learn about these 2 concepts, the more I realize that a spa day is self-care, which is also important but not the same thing. At all.  Research by psychologist Dr. Kristin Neff shows that people who practice self-compassion are more resilient, less anxious, and this might surprise you, more motivated. Not less. More. Because when you're not spending all your energy beating yourself up, you actually have energy left over to try again. But here's the thing most of us were never taught: self-compassion isn't letting yourself off the hook. It's treating yourself the way you'd treat a friend who was struggling. With patience. With honesty, yes, but also with warmth. So let me ask you something. If your best friend came to you and said, "I'm exhausted, I feel like I'm falling short everywhere, I don't think I'm doing enough" what would you say to them? Whatever you just thought of? That's what I want you to say to yourself today. You are not a machine. You are a person full of contradictions and trying your best and that is genuinely, truly enough. Give yourself a little grace today. Not because you've earned it. Because you need it. And because you are worth it.  I believe that about you, even on the days you don't. Self-compassion is recognizing that imperfection doesn’t mean failure, it means you’re human and you’re trying and that’s all any of us can do.