The Power of Self-Compassion: Transforming Your Life One Moment at a Time

Posted on May 23, 2024 by Jodi Bremer, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

The Power of Self-Compassion: Transforming Your Life One Moment at a Time

“A moment of self-compassion can change your entire day. A string of such moments can change the course of your life.” – Christopher Germer

It’s easy to get caught up with the hustle and bustle of life, mixed with responsibilities, demands, and stress. Self-compassion often takes a back seat, while the inner critique drives on louder than ever. In fact, we’re often the hardest on ourselves.

Does this even help? Does being hard on ourselves motivate us for greater change, improvement, and efficiency?

In short – no. Being hard on ourselves isn’t helpful, even if it SEEMS like our inner critic has our best interest at heart.

For example, if you had a boss talk to you like your inner critic, would that motivate you to do more? I know, for me, I’d be using my spare time to look for another job. Yet, paradoxically, we do this to ourselves assuming a different outcome.

Now, imagine you had a good working relationship with your boss, who valued you as a person and your skills. They highlighted your strengths and gave you words of encouragement through tough times, while supporting your skill development and growth. Whoa … Much different story, right?

So, what if things were different with our relationship with ourselves and our inner voices?

What if we paused and took time to cultivate self-compassion (as hard as this may be at first) despite all the chaos?

Not sure what would happen? Well, we know that more of the loud boisterous inner critic would only lead to more stress. So … Let’s see what happens if we try self-compassion … which begs the next question …

How do we cultivate more self-compassion?

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

- Create more awareness: Notice the inner critic and the messages you are receiving and the emotional impacts. Bonus points if you can also try to hold the message in awareness and non-judgmentally. In other words, after noticing the inner critic’s message, try not to be harder on yourself as a result. We don’t need another inner critic – one is too many already :)

- Embrace self-compassion: Consider the situation at hand and a different inner dialogue that acknowledges the stress and also knows you’re doing the best you can with words of kindness and care. If you have difficulty with changing the message, consider a loved one and how you might respond to them in a caring and loving way, when they are going through a difficult time, and apply the same message to yourself.

- Take care of your basic needs: Prioritize your physical and emotional well-being by getting enough sleep, eating nourishing foods, exercising regularly, and engaging in activities that bring you joy and relaxation.

- Seek support: Reach out to trusted friends, family members, or a peace coach for support when you need it. While it may be difficult to ask for help at first, the benefits of support may outweigh initial discomfort and also increase connection in relationships.

While incorporating some of these self-compassion techniques may take time, you may be pleasantly surprised by how moments of self-compassion can not only impact your day but the future too.

Never underestimate the importance of peace in and peace out.

Peacefully,
Dr. Jodi Bremer