A Mindful Perspective
Welcome to my podcast! I'm Nick Levesque, and I'm on a mission to help you navigate life's challenges with a mindful perspective. Join me every week as I dive deep into the realms of mindset, spirituality, and personal growth. Drawing from my own experiences, I want to provide you with tools, strategies, insights, and inspiring stories that will help you go from where you are now, to where you want to be.
Follow me on Instagram: @nicklevesque_
Coaching: https://www.nickspiritualcoaching.com/
A Mindful Perspective
The Art of Self-Compassion: Embracing Your Imperfections for Personal Growth
What if you could treat yourself with the same kindness you offer your best friend during tough moments? Join me, Nick Levesque, in this captivating episode of A Mindful Perspective, as we delve into the art of self-compassion. Through personal reflections, we tackle the common habit of self-criticism and highlight the importance of turning inward with understanding and forgiveness. Embracing our imperfections and human nature, we find that self-compassion is a vital tool for personal growth and emotional resilience.
Guided by the profound insights of Dr. Kristen, we discuss cultivating self-compassion through mindfulness. We explore how acknowledging and mindfully observing our suffering can lead to a deeper understanding of our needs. By asking ourselves, "What do I need right now?" we open pathways to address our immediate emotional requirements. We also examine the roots of our inner critic and its detrimental effects, advocating for a loving relationship with oneself to foster emotional well-being and a healthier nervous system.
Finally, we highlight the importance of compassionate awareness in navigating personal struggles. It's okay to not be okay, and owning up to our difficulties is a crucial step in healing. Recognizing our shared humanity can foster connections and provide much-needed support during tough times. By practicing mindfulness, we become aware of our external and internal realities without judgment. As always, your engagement and feedback are invaluable, helping us spread compassion through podcasting. Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to our next session together.
Hello everyone and welcome to A Mindful Perspective. I'm your host, nick Levesque, certified Spiritual Life Coach, and I'm here to share insights into my journey of mindfulness and self-discovery. Each week, we'll explore mindset, spirituality and personal growth to help you navigate life's challenges, with practical strategies and inspiring stories. Let's dive in. Hey everyone, welcome to another episode of the Mindful Perspective. In today's episode, we're going to be talking about the art of self-compassion and why self-compassion is a skill that we need. In my personal opinion, we need to learn to develop and bring more into our lives.
Speaker 1:I think self-compassion is something that we all inherently understand. We all know what it is, but a lot of us don't actually have a lot of self-compassion for ourselves. I know for me personally, this was something I struggled with for a very long time, and there's a lot of different reasons for that. We're going to dive into a few things today, but really today we're going to be diving into really how to cultivate more self-compassion towards ourself. So, first and foremost, I think we all understand what self-compassion is right. It's really just how we are towards ourselves, how we treat ourselves, how compassionate are we towards ourselves? Right, and, more specifically, how are we with our own suffering? Okay. What I mean by that is when we're making a mistake or we're feeling badly about ourselves or. You know, life is really hard, something's going on. That's very difficult. How are we with ourselves okay? Are we treating ourselves like we would treat a friend? A lot of the times is probably not right. I know for myself for many years this was the case, right, clients I've worked with as well, people I've talked to. In general, I know that we get very hard on ourselves and I would even go as far as to say that oftentimes we are our own worst enemies. Right, our inner critic can really take the best of us and make it very difficult for us to cultivate a sense of self-compassion towards ourself. Right, and we'll talk about that a bit more later.
Speaker 1:But really self-compassion is about turning inwards. It's like I just said, it's giving yourself the same compassion you naturally show a friend when you're struggling or feeling bad about yourself. But most of us don't do this right and like, just think about that for a moment. When you see a friend struggling with something, you obviously empathize with them. You want the best for them. You know you want to be there for them and you show them that self-compassion. You show them that you're interested and you want to help them through whatever it is that they're going through, right? But a lot of times that's not reciprocated towards ourselves, right? We're not turning inwards in those moments.
Speaker 1:And this is why I think it's so important that we talk about this today, because we all make mistakes, we all. You know. Everyone makes mistakes, everyone has their own things. Nobody is perfect, and that's a big part, I think, of understanding and applying self-compassion to our lives is understanding that none of us are perfect, and that's what makes us human, that's what makes us beautiful, in my personal opinion, right, perfection is. You know, there's no such thing as being perfect, so it's about giving ourselves permission to make mistakes and realizing that we're not perfect, right? So I think that's a big part of having and cultivating that self-compassion towards ourselves and, as I was just saying, having compassion for ourselves means that we honor that we're human, right? I think this is a big thing. Like, everyone has struggles, everyone has their own thing. Okay, that's a part of the human experience.
Speaker 1:Suffering, unfortunately, is part of the human experience, okay, and I want to share this quote that I read a while back and I shared it in a few episodes, but it's. I find it applies to so many different scenarios and, honestly, just different aspects and parts of our, of our healing journeys. But the quote says just like the moon, you are whole in any phase, right? So no matter what phase you are in life, you are whole. And I think for a lot of us, we have trouble with that, right. We have trouble with that concept of understanding that we are good just as we are. Okay, we are good just as we are Just because we have issues or things that we need to address or things that we want to work through. Maybe it's past traumas, maybe whatever it can be right. Maybe we have a harsh inner critic, maybe we fail at something. All these different things. Just because you fail at something or you know whatever it is that happened, doesn't mean that you're broken, doesn't mean that there's something that needs to be fixed. Maybe there's something or lesson that you can learn from the mistake you've made, all these different things, but they're learning opportunities, right, they're growth opportunities. It does not mean that you are broken. It does not mean that you need to be fixed.
Speaker 1:However, there's a very important point that I want to emphasize on about self-compassion. Okay, self-compassion should not be used as a form of bypassing or spiritual bypassing. Okay. What I mean by that is we all struggle and we all have things that we need help with. Okay, but it's also about owning up to that and having that radically honest conversation with ourselves that maybe this is something bigger and something that we truly need help with. So, as an example, it could be that we're going through a very difficult circumstance or challenge in our life.
Speaker 1:Okay, maybe there's a harmful habit that we need to break that we know is very detrimental. Okay, it could be a weed addiction, pornography addiction, alcohol, whatever it may be right, we know that this is not good for us. Okay, it could also be that we're going through, maybe, a divorce, or maybe you know we lost someone in our family. Maybe we lost a loved one, a partner, whatever it may be. Okay, it's one thing to have loving compassion for ourselves and saying, hey, like you know, I'm going to get through this. Just, you know you're doing what you can for yourself right now.
Speaker 1:But it's also, I think, a bigger part of that cultivating self-compassion is also realizing and admitting to yourself that, hey, maybe I genuinely need help, right, so maybe, if you do have that addiction, that you seek help from a therapist or you know a 12-step program, whatever it may be, as an example. Okay, if you are dealing with the loss of a loved one, it's not just about saying, okay, you know everything will be okay and pushing stuff away of a loved one. It's not just about saying, okay, you know everything will be okay and pushing stuff away, but actually saying, hey, I need help and you seek out a therapist. Right, you actually grieve and you know grieve the loss of your loved one. So this is what I mean, right, self compassion sometimes can also be kind of like that fierce form of self compassion.
Speaker 1:Right, it's about understanding that, hey, maybe something needs to change, not because we're broken, not because we need to be fixed, but because we want to have a better quality of life and we respect ourselves enough to understand and acknowledge that, hey, in order for me to get this better life that I want for myself, I need to do something different. So this is just a very important point that I want to emphasize, right, because self-compassion isn't just about, you know, shouting affirmations at ourselves. It's also about making the changes that are needed and doing things for ourselves, like self-care routines is an example, right, and there's a lot of research shows that self-compassionate people are more likely to exercise, eat well, get regular medical checkups, right, and just generally, or like, generally engage in health promotingpromoting behavior, because, again, you're looking out for yourself. Self-compassion is not selfish, right, wanting to take care of yourself and doing what's best for you is not selfish. And I know a lot of people think that doing stuff for them, sometimes right, is very selfish. Or they get this sense of guilt or selfishness, right, like, oh no, like I can't do this for myself, I need to look out for other people for you know, and there's a lot of different reasons for that. But, honestly, self compassion is not selfish and doing what's best for you is a big part of cultivating that self compassion towards yourself.
Speaker 1:And I wanted to share the three components of self-compassion that was developed by Dr Kristen Neff. Okay, and the first component she brings to the table is essentially self-kindness instead of self-judgment. All right, so what that means is essentially just being kind and understanding towards ourselves, right. So when we suffer, when we fail, when we feel inadequate, okay, so instead of ignoring the pain or just numbing it away as an example, we actually go through that, right, we show ourselves compassion and we treat ourselves like we would a friend, okay, it's really about that non-judgmental curiosity and, honestly, a willingness to take care of ourselves.
Speaker 1:Number two is common humanity, and basically what this one is is understanding that all humans suffer. Okay, so, maybe not the same way, to the same extent. Obviously, we all have our own different types of experiences as humans, right, but it's also about understanding that suffering is part of the human experience and that we are not alone. Alone, and this really makes us realize that, you know, someone else is going through something similar that we are going through. Someone else will be going through something similar that we are going through, right. It's about helping us connect to other people. It's about also realizing that everyone makes mistakes. Okay, just because you made something does not mean that you're broken. Okay, everyone makes mistakes. It's about embracing our imperfections as well, and I think this is a big reason why we connect so much with people. When people are vulnerable and they share their own stories, right, because we can connect to that and it shows us like, hey, other people are going through difficult situations as well, right, and it's like, wow, if they can go through that, then you know, I can get myself out of this as well. Okay, I think this is why stories and storytelling is so powerful and why we resonate with people so much.
Speaker 1:And what Dr Kristen was saying as well. From her workshops right, specifically her eight-week workshops what she noticed was that one of the main takeaways from people was the common humanity aspect. Right, it's about realizing that, hey, everyone has their own struggles. Everyone is going through something. Okay, and I can say this from experience as well. This is something that I noticed as well when I did my men's retreat, right, so I've mentioned this in a few episodes, but when I did the men's retreat, I think a year ago, where we were 18 guys talking about our traumas and all these different things, it makes you realize that so many other people are going through different things, right, and it helps you connect with other people, and hearing other stories as well is just so powerful, right? So this is what I mean by common humanity. Okay, it's not about invalidating your experience. It's not about saying like, oh you know, suck it up or whatever Other people have gone through that. Not at all, not at all. Right, whatever you're feeling and your experience is very valid. But it's also about realizing that, hey, like, if others have gone through this, I can do this myself. Right, I can go through this as well.
Speaker 1:And the third component that Dr Kristen was talking about was mindfulness, right? So it's basically how do we pay attention to our suffering, right? So we want to make sure that we're not repressing or suppressing anything. Okay, we acknowledge what we're feeling, we are mindful about what we're feeling and we allow space for what we're feeling and approach ourselves with curiosity. Okay, it's about cultivating that compassion with curiosity and non-judgment, right, and we're going to dive into this a bit more in a bit, but this is exactly what I mean, right, these are the three components that Dr Kristen was talking about that really can help us cultivate that self-compassion, and I fully agree with her. I think that these are very, very good steps, if you will, or you know, not steps, but components, I should say.
Speaker 1:But also, I think, one of the biggest questions that you can ask yourself when you're going through something. It doesn't matter what, it is, right. Maybe you know something happened, you feel that something. Now you feel miserable, you feel like, oh you know, like I should quit, or all these different things. Maybe you know, just something emotionally is going on in your life and you're feeling down, you're feeling stuck. A powerful question that you can ask yourself is what do I need right now? Okay. Or another question could be what do I need to help alleviate my suffering? There are different, obviously, there are many different questions that you can ask, but for me, personally, I think what do I need right now? I think is a powerful question to really understand what it is that you need in this moment in time.
Speaker 1:Right, because I think a big part of you know, especially when we're going through something, maybe something's coming up for us, right, a lot of us will have this tendency to push it away. Right, we want to numb it away, we want to drink it away, smoke it away, you know, whatever it is okay. I think it's about accepting the situation just as it is, and this is a big part of acceptance and mindfulness is allowing it to come up, allowing whatever it is to come up, and accepting what it is in that moment without trying to change it. Okay, whether it be negative thoughts or, you know, unwelcome emotions that you don't want, they're surfacing for a reason, okay, and if you don't take time to acknowledge them and get curious about them, right, and just let them be there and hold space for them. They will show up in other parts of your life, right, like that anger may be, like maybe your suppressed anger will, you know, be lashed out onto a partner or whatever. It may be Okay, and we want to make sure that we're not bleeding on other people as well.
Speaker 1:So this is why I think allowing space for ourself and developing that self-compassion isn't only good for ourselves, but other people as well, right, but also, like I was saying, what do I need right now? It's such a good question, such a powerful question. Maybe what you need right now to cultivate that self-compassion is to hit a good gym workout, right. Maybe it's to do something that you love. Maybe it's to go read. Maybe it's to cry. Maybe you just need, honestly, a good cry session where it's like, okay, this is really what I need right now and allow yourself and give yourself permission to cry. Maybe you just need a break from everything and you take a day to yourself where you just watch TV or, you know, watch your favorite movies, whatever. It is right. But like, what do I need right now? I think it's a great question to start understanding exactly, right, exactly that right, like, what is it that you need right now? And this is also very important to understand because it's like I said earlier, I think we are our own worst enemy, and a lot of reasons we have trouble developing self-compassion and being compassionate towards ourself is because of that inner critic.
Speaker 1:Right, a lot of us maybe have been brought into, you know, childhood environments where we don't feel worthy of love. Right, we just don't. We feel undeserving, if you will. Okay, so we, you know, we don't think that we're worthy of love, so why would we even love ourselves? An example okay, we can also have a very strong inner critic that bashes us all the time. Right, you're not worthy of love, you're not this, you're not that, you're fat, you're not good at this. You should quit that, all these different things, right, and you know, I could give a million examples of this, but you know what I'm talking about. Everyone knows their own inner critic. Okay, we might not want to admit to it, kind of thing, but we all know that we attack ourselves. Okay, for other people as well.
Speaker 1:Actually, even the inner critic and the self-criticism can be used as a motivator, which is not actually a good thing, right? So maybe you're doing something wrong. You're like, oh, you suck at this, you need to do better. Right, you need to do better. And it could be kind of like this driving motivator to push them further in life. And you know, it works for some people, but to what extent? Right, personally, I don't think that's the way to go about it.
Speaker 1:Okay, because I do believe that everyone can cultivate a loving relationship with themselves and their inner critic. Okay, it's so important to realize this because, like, attacking ourselves over and over isn't going to solve anything. It's not going to do anything and, in fact, it's just going to sink us deeper into that hole. Right, like, we're literally creating this perceived threat, if you will. Right, like our body might feel like it's under attack. Right, and that's not good for our nervous system. What I'm trying to say, right? So this is why I truly believe that the only way around this is to learn how to cultivate that sense of curiosity, that sense of warmth, that sense of kindness.
Speaker 1:Okay, and I know sometimes, like that these terms, if you will, can sound like cheesy and such, right, but that's also a big indicator If, to you, that feels like a resistance, right, like, oh, I don't need that. Or oh, this sounds so cheesy this was the case for me a few years ago right, if this sounds so cheesy to you and just, hmm, you know, there's a lot of resistance coming up to that or around that topic, and I think that's a very good indicator that there's something blocking that self-compassion. Right, there's something blocking you from allowing yourself to love yourself, maybe because you feel underserving, maybe because you feel like you don't deserve love, or your love was only conditional as a child. Right, there are so many different things here, but what I'm trying to say here is that maybe that resistance can be a sign for you to dig deeper into this, right? So this is what I'm saying Self-compassion is not a cheesy thing, it's not selfish, it's not anything. In fact, I think it's not the cure, but it's a necessary component in our healing journey. Okay, so now let's dive into how do we practice self-compassion, and before we talk about this, there's a million different ways that we can do this. I'm just going to talk about a few things that have helped me personally in my own journey, and I hope that this can help you as well.
Speaker 1:Tip number one that I wanted to share today is acknowledge that you're struggling, okay. Own up to your struggles, okay, don't push it away, don't smoke it away, don't whatever it away. Right, it is completely okay to not be okay and it's completely okay to be having a hard time. Everyone goes through a difficult situation. Everyone goes through a dark night of the soul. Everyone goes through something that you know makes them hit rock bottom. Okay, and it doesn't necessarily need to be something that deep it could be. Maybe you did something and you feel like a failure. Maybe you did something and you feel like you know, ah, you know I could have done better.
Speaker 1:All these different things, right, but just whatever it is that's causing you pain right now, just acknowledge that, okay, acknowledge that you're struggling, own up to those struggles. Just that in and of itself, and giving yourself permission and giving yourself space to just own up to what you're struggling. I think that is the first step, because now you're aware, right, you're aware, you're, you're having that radically honest conversation with yourself that something is going on right, like there's something that's very difficult right now and you want to be with that. Again. That'll look different for everyone. Maybe for you you'll need help, maybe for you it'll be okay. What do I need right now? Like we talked about earlier, maybe you're acknowledging that you're struggling with this. Okay, what do I need right now? Maybe it's just going to take a bath or walk or whatever. For other people it could be. Maybe you need therapy, a coach, whatever right, but simply coming to terms with your struggles, I truly believe, is the first step.
Speaker 1:Tip number two that I want to share today is you are not alone. Okay, and this comes back to the common humanity aspect that we talked about earlier. I wanted to talk about this again because I think it's so, so, so important. I'm sorry if I'm repeating myself, but I really thought it deserved a space in the tips today. Okay, but again, everyone struggles and everyone suffers. To feel is to be human.
Speaker 1:There's something that Dr Kristen said that really resonated with me, and she said that when we are born, when we come to earth, okay, nobody's signing a contract saying, hey, I'm never going to have any pain, life's going to be beautiful, never going to have any suffering, right, like it's so true. I found it to be so funny, but to be so true as well, and this is why that this can help us connect with other people because it's a shared human experience. It's a collective human experience, right? Like I said earlier, everyone's got their own issues and this isn't about invalidating your experience, right? Absolutely not. Whatever you're going through, whatever you're feeling, is completely valid.
Speaker 1:It's not about comparing with anyone else. It's about understanding that, hey, if someone else gone through this and someone else probably has, then I can also go through this as well. Right, it's also about maybe reaching out to someone who you know to talk to someone and connecting with someone. Right, when we're going through difficult circumstances, it's important that we're not isolating ourselves, right, and this is what she was talking about when she said common humanity. Instead of isolation, it's about connecting with other people, because other people can empathize with us and help us go through a situation. Right, it's why I was also talking about, you know, showing yourself the same compassion that you would show a friend, okay, even if we're not going through the exact same thing. Maybe there was something similar, okay, maybe it was a situation that was very similar, different details, as an example, but you know, maybe just talking to a friend or talking to someone can really help you go through that experience, right, and this is why, oftentimes, going through an experience alone is not the answer. Right, isolating yourself even though sometimes it feels like that's what we should be doing is not always the answer. So, reaching out to a friend, going for a walk with someone, whatever it may be okay, but again, this is what I'm saying You're not alone and you do not have to face your challenges all by yourself.
Speaker 1:Tip number three that I want to share with everyone today is mindfulness. Okay, and I have an episode dedicated entirely to mindfulness, if you want to check that out but, in a nutshell, mindfulness is just being aware of your external reality and your internal reality as well. By internal reality, I mean your thoughts, your emotions, right, just everything going on within you. Is what I'm trying to say. Okay, and also, I think a big part of that is to let the experience be as it is, without judgment or without trying to change it. So what I mean by this is stop trying to feel differently. I think this is a very important thing.
Speaker 1:So, as an example, let's say you broke up with someone. You're extremely sad, you're extremely angry, you're frustrated. A lot of us have been taught, especially in childhood, that anger is not something that should be expressed, so we don't do anything about it. Also, stop taught, especially in childhood, that anger is not something that should be expressed, so we don't do anything about it. Also, you know, stop crying, especially for men. As an example, I think women are more in tune with that, which is great. But even sometimes, women won't cry as well. Okay, oftentimes, instead of crying, we just don't want to feel, because feeling is very painful. So we don't want to go through that, okay. So what we'll do instead is we'll numb it away, smoke it away, we'll party on the weekends all these different things to try to deal with it, and it's not going to be helpful, okay.
Speaker 1:So your emotions, your feelings, are there for a reason. You are feeling that way for a reason. This is what I'm saying. Do not do anything differently other than give them space to come up, give them space to service. Okay, give them space to come up and give yourself permission to cry if you need to. Okay. This is what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:If you have broken up with someone and you've been with them for a few years or whatever, how long it's been, there's also a grieving process there as well. Right, grieving is not only with death. Grieving is losing something that's very significant to you and a relationship. That's a big thing that you need to grieve as well. But if you're only numbing that away and drinking it away, you're not allowing yourself to feel what it is right. So mindfulness, if you will, is about that practice of letting it come up and having a good crying session if you need to cry, okay. This is just obviously one aspect, but I hope this, you know, paints a picture of what I'm trying to say here. But it's important that you stop trying to feel differently, okay. This also validates your experience, because it's okay to cry, it's okay to be sad, okay.
Speaker 1:However, I do want to highlight as well that it's very important that when we sit with ourselves and allow ourselves to feel, it can get uncomfortable, right. Obviously, it will get uncomfortable because, again, feeling is painful. So uncomfortable is okay, but we just want to make sure that it's not too overwhelming, okay. And the reason I say this is sometimes, when we allow ourselves to be quiet and sit with things, there are other things that come up as well, especially if there are things that have been suppressed for a long time, maybe from childhood, all these different things. So if you do find that, it gets extremely overwhelming for you, then that might be a sign where you need to work with a coach or a therapist to dive deeper into those issues and also have someone hold space for you while you're going through that. Right, like I said earlier, you don't need to go through everything alone, but I also do believe that allowing yourself to feel certain things will gradually increase that window of tolerance, okay, and also get you in tune with yourself, but sometimes there is some guidance necessary with that.
Speaker 1:The other thing that we should be more mindful about, as well as how we speak to ourselves and the thoughts that are going in our heads. Right, it's like I said in many episodes before, but we are not our thoughts, right, we are the awareness behind them. And once you can learn to start to just sort of detach from your thoughts and get curious with them, right, hmm, okay, like, why am I speaking to myself that way? Way, right, like where is this coming from? Type of thing. Right, because, again, a lot of times, what's holding that self-compassion back is how we're speaking to ourselves. Right, we are our own worst enemy. We're so self-critical.
Speaker 1:So, and it's like I mentioned in previous episodes, but the inner critic typically two main things about it is one is it's trying to protect us from something okay, I know that sounds very odd, but it truly is. It's trying to protect us from not. Okay, I know that sounds very odd, but it truly is. It's trying to protect us from not getting hurt again. It's being critical so we don't do something, so we don't end up potentially hurting ourselves again, okay, and tip number two, or thing number two that I want to say is that the inner critic is not your voice. Okay, it's not your story.
Speaker 1:So this oftentimes your inner critic is something that was brought up from childhood, from a caretaker, or specifically from a mother or father, or from both. Okay, if you had extremely critical parents or, you know just, your childhood environment was filled with criticism and all these different things, it is something that you can inherently have picked up, right, it's a dialogue or a voice that you can have picked up. So, if your dad was super critical about you, you know, based on academic performance or all these different things, you may have internalized that voice right, saying I'm not good enough, I need to do this, I need to do better. But it's not your voice, right, it is not your voice. That was your father's voice, if that makes sense, right? So things that you can ask yourself are is that actually my voice, or whose voice is that? Or also, what is this trying to protect me from? What are these thoughts trying to protect me from? And then you can start diving deeper into that. These are great journaling things, but this really is what mindfulness is right it's about simply getting a better understanding of our internal reality.
Speaker 1:Tip number four that I want to share is self-improvement. Right, and it's a bit like I said earlier you want to change, not because you're broken or inadequate, but because you care about yourself, right, and I truly believe that that is one of the biggest forms of self-respect and self-compassion that you can give yourself. So, for example, let's say that you have a very harsh inner critic, okay, and a pattern that's coming up for you is I'm not good enough or I'm not worthy enough okay. This is something that a lot of people face, myself included, and, speaking from personal experience, something that I know for me didn't help is just, you know, blindly shouting affirmations saying I am good enough or I am worthy of love okay, you definitely are, and you definitely are worthy of love and you definitely are enough, but if, at the core of yourself, you don't actually believe that blindly shouting those affirmations will not actually help you, right? In my personal experience, in fact, I think that is actually a form of bypassing right, just saying you are enough and you're worthy of love but not actually believing that is not going to get you anywhere.
Speaker 1:So in that case, for me, what self-compassion would look like is acknowledging what you're feeling, right, acknowledging that, hmm, okay, like I'm just I'm really not feeling good enough right now. I'm not feeling worthy, and you know that's okay. But now I need to understand why that is. I need to develop that sense of curiosity like I keep talking about and really get to the root cause of this, okay, so maybe for you, you decide that you pick up a few books on your inner critic and you start understanding where these beliefs come from, where these limited beliefs come from. Maybe for you, you go to therapy and work with someone a therapist or coach to really understand where this is all coming from, right, and then after that you can start really kind of putting that reframing and be like, hey, you know what I am actually worthy, right, like, these thoughts aren't true, these thoughts aren't real.
Speaker 1:I genuinely am worthy of love, and just because I'm doing something right now or just because I failed in a relationship doesn't mean that I'm not worthy of love with someone else or whatever it may be right. So this is my problem with affirmation sometimes, but this is what I mean by a form of self-compassion is acknowledging what you're feeling right now, but also wanting to make that change right. Also, doing something to give you that better quality of life, which is what we were talking about earlier with the fierce self-compassion right Again. So, so, so important.
Speaker 1:And to end off the episode, I wanted to give you guys a challenge for this week, because I think self-compassion is so important and sometimes there could be different areas of our lives that we really are harder on ourselves, right, that we're not giving ourselves enough self-compassion, right. So maybe it's when we're making a mistake or we're feeling badly about ourselves for something or something's going on in our lives. That's very difficult, right, and we're just not really there for us, not like we would be for a friend. So my challenge for you this week is to identify a part in your life or a certain circumstance in your life where you feel like you could be more self-compassionate towards yourself, okay, and again, it's about approaching this with curiosity, right, it's about approaching this with curiosity and saying, hmm, like you know, are there certain circumstances where I'm very hard on myself, right, and you can journal on this. There's so many different things that you can do with this, right? And if you have trouble with this, obviously you can always work with a therapist or a coach, and this is something that I work with clients in my one-on-one coaching. So, if you are interested in that and what that looks like and what us working together could look like, I have a link in my podcast description to my Instagram and my website as well, where you can get more information, or you can also just send me a message on Instagram directly.
Speaker 1:I'm much more active there and I would love to chat with you. So, that being said, that's all I've got for you guys on today's episode. If you did like the episode, please feel free to leave a comment or review, share it. It really helps bring awareness to what I'm trying to do, which is really kind of, you know, spread this podcast on a broader scale to really help people just navigate everyday life challenges. So, again, with that being said, I hope you have a good week and I will catch you guys next week. You.
