Think of the last time someone criticized you, put you down, expressed disapproval or treated you poorly. Don’t linger on it though, because chances are it wasn’t very motivational or uplifting. Why? Because it’s demoralizing, elevates stress hormones, increases emotional reactivity, robs us of peace of mind and greatly reduces the quality of our day.
How dare they right? Well, how dare we do it to ourselves either! It’s like choosing a punishment over a reward.
In this unprecedented time we may have a lot more time by ourselves and there is so much more room to think, so when we make a mistake, fail at something, compare ourselves to others, get rejected or we don’t live up to our own expectations, it’s important we don’t employ negative self-talk or beat ourselves up for it. Instead, we need to be kind to ourselves.
Being kind to ourselves means
- letting go of perfection
- releasing judgement
- replacing negative thoughts with positive, or at least neutral ones
- talking to ourselves more gently and balanced, just like we would to a kid, pet, or best friend
- continuing to do the things that make us feel good
- nurturing our mind, body and spirit in joyful ways
Have a good day and let’s
- remember all the things that are going right
- remind ourselves kindly, that we are all vulnerable, worthy, perfectly imperfect creatures.
Leanne French Relationship Expert & Counsellor 
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