We tend to be pretty hard on ourselves. Our inner critic making us feel bad for not always looking after ourselves, not exercising enough, not eating well, drinking too much, second guessing our decisions, having very high expectations of ourselves and our outcomes, how we are with the children, how we are in our relationships… I could go on.
While we know deep down we work hard, we try hard, we have good intentions, we are good people, we still tend to beat ourselves over the head a lot of the time.
Why do we do this? Would you treat your best friend like this if she wanted a day off to laze on the sofa, if she shouted at the children every so often, if she didn’t cook ubber healthy meals all the time, if she missed the gym for a while. Would you?? I am guessing you wouldn’t…and if we wouldn’t even consider treating our best friends like that, why is it ok to treat ourselves like that??
A word that comes up for me is ‘judging’. We judge ourselves for not being super woman, getting everything done and staying calm and cool throughout, being a brilliant wife/mother and it can be soul destroying.
What would it be like to treat yourself like you would treat your best friend, even just for a day. With compassion, love, empathy. Instead of your inner critic showing up, who would show up instead? What words would they say to you?
What about celebrating what you have done, what you have achieved, what you are proud of. Make your list of all these wonderful things and when your inner critic shows up, show them your brilliant list and tell them to go away!
