The last blog post focused on taking control of our internal dialogue to become happier and healthier. How we "talk" to ourselves is incredibly impactful, affecting:
Because self-acceptance is such a crucial part of our overall happiness, here are 4 ways to be kinder to yourself. 1. Promise yourself that you will be your own best friend Think about the person you care about most in the world. If they told you about how they'd screwed up a project or said something they immediately regretted, how would you react? Now if it were you who made the mistake, what kind of self-talk would you give yourself? We're much more likely to respond to what we perceive as our own shortcomings with harshness, black-and-white thinking (I always/never do such and such), and a surious lack of compassion. Promise to protect your own feelings with the ferocity of a cat in the bath. While you don't have to scratch well-meaning people to shreds, do make a commitment to yourself right now that you will practice supportive and loving self-talk. And when you fall back into hatin' on your dear self, say to yourself, "I forgive you and I love you." 2. Give yourself attention Mind Gardener was started to raise awareness about the “world's most endangered resource” - attention. The founders say that attention is a prerequisite to being kind, generous, and compassionate. How can we possibly connect with or care about something that isn't part of our awareness? Carve out time to give yourself attention every day. How are you feeling physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, intuitively...? What is your body telling you? How about your heart? Spend at least five quiet minutes each day with yourself, doing nothing else but paying attention to the little voice speaking truth beneath the noise of thoughts. Show yourself that you're worth being with and listening to. 3. Make peace with your body Changing my relationship with my body from “sack that carries me around and annoys me when it complains” to “incredibly intricate system that I'm so grateful for” raised my self-love A TON. Spending a bit of time on guided meditations to heal your relationship with your body can really help. My favorite is this one. Give your reflection some love. Tracy Raftl, founder of Naturally Clear Skin, suffered from severe acne and hated looking at herself. She started doing something silly yet oddly effective. She changed her response to her reflection by saying in the mirror, “I love you! I love you!” She likes to do it the same way she says it to her dogs, which makes it more fun. I tried it the normal, non-dog way first, which was okay. I finally tried the dog voice and couldn't help but smile and laugh. Try it for yourself, or if you're more serious, simply pay your reflection one compliment. 4. Affirm, affirm, affirm Affirmations are a clichè because they work! Pick one or multiple that really resonates with you - here's a list of 35 affirmations to inspire you. They can speak to any aspect of your life from "I am perfectly healthy" to “Money comes to me all the time” to “I am a radiant, energetic being." One way to choose an affirmation is to notice what negative thoughts you have and make your affirmation state the opposite. Repeat it over and over so it's ready to go when you need it. I keep my affirmations handy in my cell phone notes. The journey to self-acceptance and changing negative self-talk is one we all share. Which of these 4 ways will you put into practice today? Leave a comment below and let us know ❤️
4 Comments
Sally
4/7/2019 09:38:04 am
I love the suggestion to make peace with your body. One thing that recently helped me do this is: I got a full body, "feel good" massage and it helped me to reconnect, accept, and appreciate my body.
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4/11/2019 12:04:59 pm
Love it, Sally! Good for you! It can be challenging to change our minds about our body, so caring for our body physically can be an effective way to strengthen that mind-body connection. Thank you for sharing!
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mario
4/9/2019 06:55:00 pm
I think I'll start with #3. I like the video link to your favorite one. Thanks.
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4/11/2019 12:07:35 pm
Hi Mario, so glad you stopped by and that you found a takeaway. I hope you enjoy the meditation.
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