Recently I've talked about five ways to demonstrate self-compassion and five ways you could start to practice these. I mentioned:
Over the next five posts I’ll take each in turn to give a little more detail about what it means, and how you can start to introduce each in your day to day, starting here with slowing down.
"You spend a lot of time inside your head. Make sure it's a nice place to be"
Have you noticed that when you rush around and fill your day, you get to the evening or the end of the weekend and wonder where the time has gone? Yet when you have less to do the time goes slower.
It’s because you have the time to pay more attention. When you go slower you can notice more. You see and feel subtle differences. The nuances in the day, in yourself and in the way you feel. But why slow down?
You can be aware of the moment.
You can notice interactions with more curiosity and interest.
You can observe your inner voice.
Rushing, juggling prioritise, multitasking numbs our ability to notice. Your focus is so split between the activities on the outside that you’re less conscious of how you’re speaking to yourself on the inside.
Slow the rush and you will notice your inner critic. Awareness is the first step to creating change or starting new habits but if you don’t slow down to notice, you will never enable change in yourself, for yourself.
We all slow down in different ways, work out where you’re rushing and piling on too much, and do something different:
> Try to focus on one thing at a time > Take some conscious deep breaths > Physically slow the way you move > Stretch or relax your body > Prioritise time for you, however small a window that may be > Get things out of your head and onto the page. > Ask yourself ‘what is the rush here?’ > Walk in nature > Meditate
Your self narrative lives with you every day. Why not make it nice?
The original post Five ways to demonstrate self-compassion outlines all five ways to introduce you to living with more compassion. You may also find this post, How to practice mindfulness to create more self-compassion interesting too.
To really connect with your well-being and learn to prioritise your self-care, I offer a 'Back to well-being' programme to help you go back to basics, here.
Gemma Brown is an associate certified coach with the International Coach Federation, working with people to navigate successfully through transitions - be it career, relationships or life in general. Her belief is that when we confidently bring our whole selves to all areas of life, anything is possible. Transitions exist in both our personal and business life, and so often, the two fiercely overlap. Coaching with Gemma focuses on you as a whole, enabling you to identify your strengths, build confidence and to live a life with increased purpose and direction. Gemma is based in Cambridgeshire and carries out face to face coaching in the area as well as 1-2-1 coaching via Skype and Zoom. For more about Gemma, visit her 'About' page or contact her directly.