Find a place where you can sit undisturbed.
Let your shoulders drop.
Breathe in slowly.
And breathe out.
Bring to mind.
A recent choice that didn't work out.
A mistake.
Or a moment you've been replaying.
Say quietly to yourself.
I made a bad call.
It didn't work out.
I made a bad call.
It didn't work out.
Feel that in your body.
It may be painful,
But it's clear and specific.
Notice how.
.
.
Very easily.
Almost without noticing.
This thought moves.
From a mistake.
Something is wrong with me.
Let yourself recognize this without judging it.
Now hear the voice that says to you,
You're a failure.
You should have known better.
Feel the difference.
This may feel heavier.
Deflating.
As if something inside of you is sapping your energy.
Hold both your hands out in front of you.
I made a bad call.
Describe something you did.
Give that energy a colour.
And gently place it in one hand.
You're a failure is a verdict about who you are.
Give that heavier deflating energy a color.
And gently place it in your other hand.
Allow space to open between them.
Feel the energy you placed in your first hand.
Then feel the energy in the other.
And again.
Feel the energy you placed in your first hand.
Then feel the energy in the other.
If the you are a failure energy feels familiar.
Notice that too.
It may be a feeling you learned long ago.
Perhaps from someone you love.
Who felt this too.
No need to blame or solve the past.
Simply recognize how easily mistakes becomes failure.
Say quietly.
This mistake is not me.
I can be with what happened.
Without turning against who I am.
This mistake.
Is not me.
Now.
Bring to mind an action you can take this week.
Something that expresses the best of who you are.
It might be a conversation,
An apology,
A check-in.
Or a change in how you approach a situation.
Choose something easy to follow through on.
As you take a slow breath in.
Commit to taking that action.
Breathe out.
When you're ready,
Open your eyes.
