3 Steps to shift gear from Self-Judgement to Self-Compassion

It is all too easy when we are faced with challenging situations or struggling in someway to turn on ourselves with harsh self-judgement thereby overwhelming our nervous system. Self-Compassion is an effective practice to counteract this habit. There are three components to the practice of self-compassion: Mindfulness, Common Humanity and Kindness.

1. Mindfulness: It is important to recognise what is happening and silently to acknowledge this as a challenging, stressful situation. Acknowledging the difficulty and the OUCH factor.
2. Common Humanity: It is inevitable that we will have moments like this. Everybody feels like this sometimes. This is part and parcel of life. It is natural to feel like this in stressful situations.
3. Kindness: May I be kind to myself. At this point it can be really helpful to place your hands on your heart and to soften around any bracing that is present in your body. Let your heart feel your own presence so that you can become a friend to yourself in a way that you would like a good friend to be there for you.