February is the Month of love; love for others and love for self.
Sometimes it is hard to remember to look after ourselves which can lead to a lack of self-worth, low self-esteem, mental health difficulties, fatigue and much more.
It can be hard to find the balance between giving to others and giving to ourselves. The balance is crucial as “You cannot pour from an empty cup”.
“With self-compassion, we give ourselves that same kindness and care we would give to a good friend.”- self-compassion.org
Self-compassion requires you to take notice of how you’re feeling, be honest with yourself and take action without judgement. To be self-compassionate you then need to treat yourself with kindness and respond to you emotions or feelings in a way that will support you and comfort you. In this busy world it is difficult to take time to check-in with how you are feeling, it is easy to ignore difficult feelings and not take good care of yourself; this can lead to physical or emotional burn-out and then we cannot give to anyone.
It is important to recognise and know what “fills up your cup” and make time to do this.
Putting time aside to practice self-compassion can:
- improve your emotional well-being
- improve your mental wellbeing
- reduce anxiety
- increase energy levels
- improve your physical health
- develop self-awareness
- improve self-esteem
- and much more!
Every one is different and unique and therefore everyone has their own way of practicing self-compassion.
Here are a few ways in which you could practice self-compassion, give a few of them a go, explore what works for you…
Go dancing, meditate, create some art, take time to reflect, listen to music, have a bath, have a hot drink, spend time with friends, exercise, have a nutritious meal, do some yoga.
