What Do We Do When the Inner Critic Rears It's Head?
The antithesis of self-compassion is self-judgement.
You know how it is...you mess up, or something doesn't go as you planned. All of a sudden your inner critic rears it's head, and begins to incessantly belittle you.
It may seem that the best way to fight the inner critic is to build up our positive self-image. To replace the negative with the positive–to find a power-up (like the Super Mushroom from Super Mario Brothers).
Seems to make sense...fight the negative with positive, right? Pour some sugar on the bitterness.
The thing is that as Kristin Neff says in her book Self-Compassion that "continually feeding our need for positive self-evaluation is a bit like stuffing ourselves with candy."
If we think about it for a little while, we realize that simply replacing the negative for the positive is still rooted in self-judgement. Whether we judge something as good or bad, it's still a judgement.
Instead what if you fully accept yourselves as you are–with a loving and open heart.
Just as YOU ARE.
You are enough.
No one is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. You will too, and that's ok.
What is Self-Compassion?
Self-Kindness vs Self-Judgement
Self-compassion is about kindness towards ourselves. Extending the same understanding, warmth, and love to ourselves as we would give to people we love.
We all benefit when we receive tenderness, and a gentle approach. The person we need this from the most is OURSELVES.
Common Humanity vs Isolation
We are not alone.
Part of being human is being imperfect.
Mindfulness vs Over-Identification
Mindfulness is simply the awareness of the present moment. It’s paying attention to how you are experiencing life right this minute. Right now.
Noticing what is happening in your body, non-judgmentally.
The work of Self-Compassion is rooted in practice–DAILY practice.
Find out how self-compassionate you are, by taking this self-compassion assessment.
*This information comes from the research of Kristin Neff.