“Self-Compassion is simply giving the same kindness to ourselves that we would give to others.”
– Chris Germer
Being empathetic is an innate part of being sensitive, and with that comes an enormous capacity for compassion. Compassion for others seems to come easier for many people, and especially to highly sensitive people. Giving compassion to ourselves can feel very unfamiliar.
Although extending kindness and caring to others often comes easily, having the same level of self-love and kindness for ourselves can be hard. It’s not always something that is taught or modelled for us, and so we neglect ourselves.
There are many simple ways to practice self compassion in our daily lives. Chris Germer and Kristen Neff at the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion offer some wonderful examples. One that I use often is to simply breath. As you become aware of your breath, on each in-breath, inhale compassion for yourself. If it feels accessible, then you can exhale compassion to others.
Here’s a few more simple ways that we can practice compassion for ourselves:
If we are able to experience compassion for ourselves then we might have access to even more compassion to give to others. We can give from the overflow and not from an empty bucket.