When I hear one of my friends being hard on themselves, it is so easy to recognize that she is being unreasonable in her expectations and she needs to take it easy in one way or another. It’s quite a different thing to recognize it in myself though, or to give myself the same compassion I would give to a friend. One way I think that I could change much of my outlook is by talking to myself in a nicer tone.
I often feel impatient with myself and want to be getting so much more accomplished than I actually am. If a friend of mine were putting herself though such aggressive pressure, I would envelop her in a big hug, make her a cup of tea, and try to get her to see why she needs to be nicer to herself, much like my own friends do with me.
The One Little Word assignment for April is to write ourselves a letter about where we are with our word and where we’d like to be one year from now. So I’m thinking I will write about being forgiving, patient, and kind to myself, trying to treat myself as if I am my own best friend. I wrote a similar letter to myself a few months ago and I think it has helped. I am actually eager to think more about where I am in my life right now, if I’m where I want to be, and what I can celebrate about myself.
This is so true Naomi. I am quite often guilty of feeling this way and of course being one of the first to advocate for others to be less hard on themselves. It is often difficult to let the stress and pressure of “getting it all done” go when the responsibilities are never ending. I love the idea of writing a letter to yourself about where you would like to be a year from now, especially if it is helpful. It might help you focus on the now part, by giving you the opportunity to assess where you are now and set goals and a plan in place for how to get to that state you would like to be in a year from now.
Good luck with your letter and keep up the great writing and beautiful photography.
Rishona
Thanks, Rishona! I’m glad you commented.