Hard to believe, but the #60 Days of Deliberate Kindness that started on my 60th birthday, April 23rd, is now over! The theme for the last week of our practice was “Self-Kindness”. Why was it last? Because practicing kindness to others is what improves the skills we need to use to be kind to ourselves!
Yesterday and the day before, I talked about how to practice thinking and speaking kindly to yourself. Today, here are some ways to practice acting kindly!
Be empathetic and compassionate to yourself! Listen to the “voice of your heart”. That is the voice telling you that something is - or isn’t - right for you! Just because others are doing things in a certain way, and want you to do the same, if it doesn’t fit your values, don’t do it!
Be honest with yourself and others! Being kind to yourself means letting people know how you feel! You can do that in kind ways that don’t ruin relationships, but create open dialogue!
Give yourself time. Stop rushing around because you think you “need” to become something you are not, or satisfy what others think you should do or be! Practice doing the things that give you joy, because that kindness will being you a lot of joy!
And please remember, none of us exists in a vacuum. We are all interconnected. The more we practice being kind to others, the more kind we’ll learn to be to ourselves…and the more we practice being kind to ourselves, the more we’ll learn to be kind to others!
How are you planning to practice self-kindness today? I'd love to hear!