We have been posting each day the ways to cope and – trust me – I am having to remind myself to practice them in my own life. However, yesterday, I was done. I was overcome with thoughts and feelings of powerlessness and pressure I was unconsciously putting on myself to be better and have things more organized.
I used to tell myself that this pressure is what created motivation, discipline and things running smoothly. Today I humbly come to you and say I am surrendering the pressure and shame for peace and gratitude. I choose to talk to myself with compassion and understanding for the circumstances and situations I am facing.
Ways I Use Self Compassion:
- Practice being aware without judgement. Learn your warning signs and start to label them as pressure. Practice recognizing it before it boils over and be honest with yourself. By calling it what it is and recognizing the impact on your life allows us to shift our focus to compassion.
- Validate yourself. Validate your feelings with statements like, “This feeling makes sense you are trying to figure a lot of new ways of doing life with COVID-19 and it is hard.”
- Ask yourself what your best friend or someone who loves you would say. Often the ways we talk to ourselves are harsh and full of judgement. Talk to yourself as your best friend. What would my best friend say to me right now? I am doing the best I can. You don’t have to hurt yourself like this. I get to choose the path I want to take right now.
- Take time to slow down and pause. What brings you peace? What are you grateful for? I found myself taking a time out from the stress and breathing. This allowed me to shift my thoughts into gratitude for my children’s teacher as I was struggling to help my kids with school
Today I want to encourage you to take off the pressure and turn towards a place of peace.
