Welcome to Day 3 of the Self Belief Challenge here on Insight Timer.
This marks the start of seeing yourself with a little more kindness and a little less doubt.
Each day you'll take a few minutes to remember who you are and what you're capable of.
Let's jump in to today's session.
Welcome to Day 3 of the Self Belief Challenge.
So you've met the inner critic over the past couple of days and are beginning to understand it better.
Now we're going to learn how to have compassion for our imperfection rather than harshly judging it.
Research shows that self-compassion fosters well-being and emotional resilience.
It's also a more powerful and effective motivator of growth and change than self-criticism.
So I'm going to lead you through a self-compassion break where we'll bring the three core components of self-compassion,
Which are mindfulness,
Common humanity,
And kindness to ourselves.
And you can see for yourself the difference it makes.
So please close your eyes or cast them downward.
Go inward.
Taking a few slow breaths.
Feeling your feet on the floor.
And I'd invite you to think of something that you're struggling with.
Maybe a mistake you made or something you regret or something you're feeling inadequate about in some way.
Bring in some mindfulness so that you can turn toward the discomfort of what you feel.
You know,
It hurts.
We don't want to ignore it,
But we also don't want to run away with the feelings either.
We just want to hold them with some space.
Hold them in our awareness.
And remember that you aren't alone.
These feelings of imperfection or inadequacy or self-doubt,
This is part of being human.
Everyone feels this way at times.
There's nothing wrong with you or abnormal for feeling this.
It's actually what connects you with others.
It doesn't separate you or isolate you.
So feel your humanity.
Because we're struggling,
We want to be there for ourselves.
And one way to do this is with physical touch.
So I'd invite you to put your hands on your body in some way that feels supportive.
Maybe both hands on your heart or your face.
Maybe giving yourself a hug.
Feeling the warmth of your hands.
Feeling your own support.
And try saying some words of kindness to yourself.
The type of thing you might naturally say to a friend who is struggling with the same issue you're struggling with.
Perhaps something like,
Um,
I'm here for you.
I care about you just as you are.
It's okay.
What do you need?
And then see if you can take in these words for yourself.
It's not going to make you lazy or afraid to change.
Just the opposite.
Warmth,
Kindness,
Encouragement.
It's going to help you reach your best to be your best self.
And so just sitting with this warmth,
But allowing yourself to feel whatever it is you feel.
Even if you feel nothing,
You know,
That's okay.
It's really the intention to support ourselves that counts the most.
Just allow yourself to be exactly as you are.
And when you're ready,
You can open your eyes.
So you can take a self-compassion break any time of day or night.
It's just a matter of bringing in some mindfulness,
Remembering your humanity,
Some touch helps,
And then words of kindness.
And it'll allow you to be there for yourself when you need it most.
And also to help build a sense of common humanity,
You might want to share in the forum.
What are the types of things you say to yourself that actually help you feel supported?
And then tomorrow on day four,
You'll take this concept of self-compassion further by learning how to rewrite the critics' words into ones that build you up instead of break you down.
Thanks so much for joining us on this journey towards self-compassion.
