When you are going through a difficult time, the last thing that you may want to do is be kind to yourself. You might even believe that it's selfish or self-indulgent to do something nice for yourself, especially if your partner or family members are also struggling. But what if we told you that self-compassion can actually help others? That by caring for yourself and loving yourself, you become more equipped to care for and love others? Well, it's true! One of the best ways to practice self-compassion is through mindfulness, which means being aware of what is happening right now without judging it as good or bad. Mindfulness can help us recognize when we need compassion and remind us of our inherent worthiness.

What is self compassion?

Self-compassion is a way of relating to yourself with kindness and understanding, in the same way you would treat a good friend. It involves letting go of judgement and guilt, allowing yourself to be imperfect.

In her book Self-Compassion: Stop Beating Yourself Up and Leave Insecurity Behind (2012), Dr Kristin Neff defines self-compassion as: “being kind to oneself rather than harshly critical when facing personal failings”. This definition has five main components:

• Being kind

• Recognizing that suffering is part of the human condition

• Taking an attitude of curiosity about one's own experiences rather than condemnation or loathing them

• Mindfulness – having a nonjudgemental stance towards thoughts and feelings

• Mindful self-kindness – extending compassion to oneself in ways that are not possible with other people

Why is self compassion important?

The first and most obvious answer to this question is because you deserve it! You’re an imperfect person with limited time on this planet, so why not spend your time doing things that make you feel good about yourself, like taking care of yourself physically and mentally?

Self compassion, however, has a much deeper meaning than simply “being nice” or treating yourself as well as others would treat you. Self love isn’t just a destination; it’s also our journey toward greater happiness. When we practice self compassion consistently over time, we create positive habits in our brain that help us reach our goals more easily. This can mean anything from getting better sleep at night to stopping negative thoughts before they spiral out of control into anxiety or depression (or both!).

When we practice self compassion consistently over time, we create positive habits in our brain that help us reach our goals more easily.

How can I practice self compassion?

There are a lot of ways to practice self compassion.

You can treat yourself as you would a friend. You can be kind, gentle and forgiving with yourself. You can be patient with yourself too, rather than rushing into the next thing that comes up in your life without giving yourself time to breathe and recover from the last thing that happened (or didn't happen). And finally, you should also be compassionate with yourself: if you make mistakes or do something wrong then instead of beating yourself up about it or feeling guilty try being compassionate towards your actions and mistakes, remind yourself why they happened so that next time when faced with similar situations you'll know how not to make those same mistakes again!

Self compassion is as simple as treating yourself as you would a friend.

Self compassion is a form of self-love. It's simply a way of caring for yourself. You can treat yourself with kindness, gentleness and understanding by listening to your needs, forgiving yourself when you make mistakes and accepting who you are right now.

Self compassion is not about being 'weak' or 'selfish'. It doesn't mean that you have to like everything about yourself or constantly put others first at the expense of your own happiness (although this might be helpful). Self-compassion means recognizing that we all make mistakes sometimes, but none of us is perfect.

You don’t need to achieve anything in order to give ourselves compassion – everyone deserves it unconditionally!

Self compassion is seeing the things we do as part of our own journey, and seeing those moments of failure or inadequacy as a natural part of that process. It means not being too hard on ourselves when we don’t get it right, but instead recognizing that failure is a valuable thing – an opportunity to learn and grow. Self compassion also means recognizing our accomplishments, big or small, and celebrating them as markers along the path towards our goals.

As with all aspects of life, self compassion is something you can practice and improve at over time. It doesn’t come naturally to all of us (especially those who are perfectionists!), but with conscious effort anyone can develop this valuable skill over time!