What is self-compassion?
Self-compassion means treating yourself as you would treat a good friend. Pioneering researcher Kristin Neff defined three components of self-compassion: mindfulness, common humanity and self-kindness. With mindfulness, we become aware of our moment-to-moment experience without judgment and with a balanced perspective. In other words, we recognise when suffering is present without judging ourselves for it and without over-identifying with difficult thoughts and emotions. With common humanity, we acknowledge that suffering is part of being human and that we are not alone. With self-kindness, we soothe and hold ourselves simply because we are suffering.
In a nutshell, self-compassion means…
Becoming aware of when we are suffering
Bringing a balanced perspective to hard times
Comforting ourselves when we are struggling
Recognising what we need most in difficult times
Standing up for ourselves
Learning to be with difficult emotions
Accepting ourselves as we are
“Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional.”