Little Step No. 18
What to do:
Be kind to yourself
Why this step works:
I had a wonderful chat with the lovely Mandy Pearson yesterday. Mandy is a mindfulness teacher and I am grateful to call her my friend. During our conversation, I mentioned I was feeling frustrated about not having got as much done over the last week as I would have liked.
Mandy said, “I think you’re being a bit hard on yourself”. And she was so right. In the midst of working through the week’s tasks, my focus had shifted to the ones that were still outstanding, rather than those that were complete. She said, “it’s just like your Little Steps, we all need to celebrate the small wins in every aspect of our lives. And accept ourselves as we are, with compassion, in each moment. Always be kind to yourself, it’s the most important thing”.
Instead of noticing the positive aspects of my week, or accepting with compassion that things hadn’t gone to plan, I’d been beating myself up for the jobs I hadn’t got done. I quickly realised that shifting to a kinder focus was actually all that was needed, not more work.
So this week’s little step is simply to be kind to yourself.
Often we find it easier to show kindness to others than to ourselves. Yet the irony is that when we are kind to ourselves, those around us usually benefit too. The incredible Dr Jeffrey Bland said recently that, “the health of the planet starts with the health of the individual”. Perhaps it's also true that treating ourselves more kindly means we will nurture a much kinder planet overall. And interestingly, a fascinating study recently showed that kindness can actually improve immune function too! Wow!
Whatever happens this week, whether your eating habits go to plan, or life feels more like a jumbled mess, be kind to yourself. Acknowledge the small wins, especially the teeny-tiny ones, and notice how much better you feel when you allow a gentler, more compassionate inner dialogue with yourself.