As we start the new year,
Now is as good a time as any to re-parent our inner voice,
To sound kinder and more accepting.
Now you don't need to do this practice today perfectly.
I will say one sentence,
Then you can repeat it.
Out loud or quietly in your mind,
It's entirely your choice.
Do what feels right,
Skip what doesn't.
There are about seven different themes,
Starting with the first one,
On core safety and permission.
Repeat after me.
I am allowed to speak to myself gently.
I do not need to scare myself into change.
I can motivate myself with care,
Not criticism.
Nothing bad will happen if I'm kind to myself.
Moving on to the second theme,
Worthiness without conditions.
Repeat after me.
I do not have to earn my own compassion.
I am worthy of kindness even when I am tired.
Even when I make mistakes,
I deserve respect.
I can be imperfect and still be loved.
Now the third theme,
Slowing the inner voice.
Repeat after me.
I am allowed to slow down.
There is no emergency right now.
I do not need to rush to be okay.
I can take this one moment at a time.
For our fourth theme,
Speaking to pain with care.
Repeat after me.
Something hurts and I can acknowledge that.
I don't need to minimize my pain to survive it.
My feelings make sense in the context of my life.
I can be with discomfort without attacking myself.
The fifth theme is particularly crucial and important on replacing the harsh self-talk we learned from other models in our life.
Repeat after me.
I'm learning a new way to speak to myself.
I release the voice that learned to be harsh to stay safe.
I choose a voice that supports me instead.
And I can adjust myself without shaming myself.
Now the sixth theme on reparenting this inner voice.
Repeat after me.
I am allowed to speak to myself like someone I love.
I can be firm and gentle at the same time.
I do not need to function on fear.
I'm guiding myself with patience.
And for our seventh and our last theme,
We'll touch on rest,
Regulation and trusting ourselves.
Repeat after me.
I'm allowed to rest without guilt.
Rest helps my nervous system reset.
I do not need to collapse to deserve a pause.
Slowing down is an active act of care.
I trust myself to handle what comes next.
I can support myself through any uncertainty because I've done it before.
I don't need to be perfect to be safe.
And I am learning to be on my own side.
Now as we end today's practice,
Let's take one gentle and slow breath in with an inhale.
And then exhaling a warm and kinder exhale.
Feeling our belly and our chest lower.
Notice how it feels to be spoken to in this way.
Whilst we can't change the way we were parented,
You can certainly return to these words and this script anytime this year ahead.
They are always available to you.
