Self-Compassion Explained

Hi,

I'm Carolina Gonzalez.

So glad that you're here.

Let's talk about self-compassion.

If you're like most of us.

There is a voice.

Inside you that is not kind.

It may say things like.

.

.

You should be doing more.

You.

Always mess this up.

What's wrong with you?

Others are doing it better.

You're falling behind.

Well,

That voice.

Is your inner critic.

And for many of us,

It's been running in the background.

So long that we don't even hear it anymore.

We just feel it as anxiety,

As pressure.

It's never been enough.

So self-compassion is the practice of meeting that voice.

And meeting yourself.

With kindness.

Instead.

Treating yourself the way you would treat a dear friend.

Who was struggling.

Now.

Let me be clear about what self-compassion is not.

Is not letting yourself off the hook.

Is not making excuses,

It's not weakness and it's not pretending everything is fine.

When it isn't.

There is a niche.

To self-compassion.

It has three pieces.

Three things woven together.

The first is kindness.

Speaking to yourself the way you'd speak to someone you love.

It's okay.

I see you.

And I'm here for you.

The second is common humanity.

Remembering that whatever you're doing,

You going through.

Feeling exhausted or lost.

Or like you've failed.

You are not alone in this.

And this is part of being human.

We've all been there.

Even though we've experienced different events but it's a common our universal experience.

The third is mindfulness,

Which is being aware of what's painful.

Without exaggerating it,

Without pushing it away.

Just letting it be as it is.

Now.

He's a fascinating part.

We often think we need to be hard on ourselves.

On ourselves in order to grow.

That self-criticism keep us motivated.

That if we go.

.

.

Easy on ourselves,

We'll get lazy,

We'll lose our edge.

Their research.

Actually shows the opposite.

People who practice self-compassion.

Are more motivated,

More resilient,

More able to bounce back when things go wrong.

When you treat yourself with kindness,

Your nervous system relaxes.

And you feel safer in your own skin and from that place you can actually Move forward.

Self-criticism keeps you constrained and small while self-compassion is what frees you.

So if you'd like,

Let's try something together,

Just for a moment.

Bring one hand to your heart.

Or your chest.

And one hand.

To your abdomen,

Whatever feels right.

Pressing just slightly feeling the warmth of your own hand and the weight of it.

Taking one slow breath.

And now bring into mind something you've been hard on yourself about lately.

Could be something small or something not so small.

And silently,

Gently.

As if you were speaking to someone you love.

Say to yourself,

It's okay.

I see you.

I'm here for you.

May your heart Be open and loving.

Thank you for being here with me.