It’s a new year! What do you hope will be different and/or the same in the New Year? Are you taking the time to make your physical and emotional health a priority?
What is getting in your way? If the norm in society is to achieve, accomplish and succeed, why is burnout so prevalent, and why are we so hard on ourselves sometimes when we miss the mark we’re aiming for in the new year or any time? While self-critique spans gender boundaries, a 2016 study focused on women illustrates how prevalent our inner critics can be. Of 2,000 women surveyed, 60% said they have days where they criticize themselves constantly throughout the day, and 89% said they prefer to compliment someone else but not themselves.
Synchronous Health Specialist, Jennifer Guarino, LMFT, notes “Compassion for others requires awareness of and empathy for another person’s difficulties. Likewise, self-compassion requires that we do not deny or minimize our own suffering. It requires that we pay attention to our authentic feelings and that we allow our feelings to inform us of our legitimate needs. It is not self-pity, as self-compassion leads to intentional self-care. It fuels our hope and encourages our resiliency no matter what difficulty we are facing.”
Additional research shows that self-criticism negatively impacts our well-being, making us feel more emotional, weaker in the face of failure and overall less likely to bounce back from life’s ups and downs. So how can we start this new year off combatting a tendency we might have to self-critique or focus on failure? The short answer is self-compassion which requires an awareness of grace for ourselves and others. Not judgement. Hope in Progress. Doesn’t that sound like a better alternative?
It’s not selfish to practice self-compassion and acknowledge grace for yourself or others. Self-compassion = gateway to resilience and more joy in life.
What are some ways you can start to cultivate more self-compassion and prevent burnout?
Mindfulness. Intentionally acknowledge your feelings through the lens of grace, recognizing that it is not a weakness, but it is rather a very powerful move to embrace grace.
Meditation. Renewal of the mind on a daily basis is key for our progress in living in the present moment we’re in, which is where all the freedom is after all. Meditation and Mindfulness help us stay in the posture of presence, ushering us into experiencing positive patterns and levels of freedom we never thought possible.
Reach out. If you or someone you know could use some additional support in cultivating more self-compassion or would just like someone to talk to in general, our team is ready to serve you.
To learn more and register, call 844-242-3364.
Sources below: Tech Times Stanford University
