How To Get Back To Self-Compassion

What do you tell yourself whenever you realize that you failed on a project you are working on? Do you follow some self-compassion exercises to boost your confidence and tell yourself to focus on what you learned? Or do you harshly criticize yourself and tell yourself that you’re a loser?

When you tend to beat yourself up whenever things do not go your way, you are like how most people deal with failure. And like most people, you might need a kind of self-awakening to remind you of the real purpose of living, which is joy and learning. 

Why Is It Important To Practice Self-Compassion?

Learning to forgive yourself whenever things do not go as planned will help you gain a new perspective on how to take on life. Practicing mindfulness and compassion to others and especially to yourself come with their benefits, each one making your life more meaningful.

With a strong sense of self-compassion, you can set the stage for what life could be like. It will promote better health, stable relationships, and an overall positive sense of well-being. 

When you learn how to incorporate self-compassion training in your life, you become more resilient and prepare yourself against the worst that the world can give. And you can forgive yourself for the poor choices you made in the past or will make in the future. 

It is about learning from those mistakes and making good out of them. Practicing self-compassion is all about nurturing yourself to help you overcome feelings of anxiety and depression. It is like finding a true friend in yourself. 

This practice of showing compassion to yourself will teach you to be kind, especially when you are going through a lot mentally and emotionally. When you incorporate this practice into your life, showing compassion to others won’t be a great challenge anymore. 

You could become a source of inspiration for others. They, too, could learn to be compassionate of themselves, and they learned it all because of you.

How Do You Teach Yourself Compassion?

Some people learn how to become compassionate to themselves in the most natural way. They are those who know precisely when to focus on the outcome and when to look into the process and appreciate everything else in between. 

But not everyone learns that naturally. Some people have to learn it the hard way. They have to fail and hurt themselves before they realize that they should forgive themselves and start anew.

Several professional methods and training programs have been put together to help teach people the value of compassion. These are designed to help people realize that there is something in them that speaks of compassion and mercy. 

How do you teach yourself to cultivate a sense of compassion in your life? Here are some tips to get you started.

Tip 1: Find comfort in yourself

Did you know that every negative emotion that you keep inside comes negatively affects your physical body? While you might think of the emotional and mental effects that it leaves you with, the body shows the most visible form of abuse, your lack of compassion is left behind. 

Begin by giving your body something healthy. While eating ice cream and other junk food gives you temporary pleasure, feeding your body with healthy foods and drinks could make it survive in the long run. 

Apart from good and healthy food, give your body enough time to rest and recover. Massage your hands, feet, and neck. If you can, get a whole-body massage. You can do anything you can to make your body feel comfortable and cared for. 

This is one dose of self-compassion, and you can always do more. 

Tip 2: Tell yourself how much you’re appreciated

Think of it as if you were writing a letter or telling a good friend how much you value them in your life. Write a letter to yourself. Describe the current situation you are in that has left you feeling helpless and just downright devastated. 

This time, instead of pointing fingers at anyone or blaming yourself for what happened, you must focus on the situation and what you learned from it. Talk about how you feel or how the situation has made you feel. 

Doing this is one of the best ways to tell yourself how much you appreciate your effort in being alive. No matter how small or big, any good word could make you feel like a good friend patted you on the back for even trying. 

Tip 3: Encourage yourself to try harder

What would you say to a friend who is just about to give up on his dreams and goals? Whenever you find yourself in this situation, it helps to know that you can give comfort during a difficult time. 

Having good friends and family to encourage you is indeed a blessing, but you can do anything and be anything when you know how to motivate yourself. Direct your words of wisdom to yourself. 

Remind yourself of all the things that you have survived in the past. Push yourself to try harder. One failure should not stop you from trying again. 

Tip 4: Always be mindful of your thoughts and actions

No matter how busy your day is, always make time for a mindfulness meditation practice. It is the kind of practice that will allow you to learn more about what you think and how you feel. The practice lends itself to you so that you can achieve a more clear mind to take on what life has to offer. 

Being in pain or feeling low because of failure is normal. It is a human’s most natural way of dealing with emotions of sadness. But then again, you have learned to nurture yourself despite difficult circumstances. 

Practicing mindfulness will give you perspective on things. It will allow you to focus on learning more than the output. It will teach you to accept the value of forgiving yourself for all the shortcomings and allowing yourself to learn from it so that you can eventually move on.