Happy February! Over the next few weeks, I'm so excited to introduce to you experts in a variety of arenas. I've asked that they each share just ONE thing that they think can make the biggest difference in your physical, nutritional, and/or mental health.
Here we go. I introduce to you...
ONE Thing
by Colleen Haggerty
As a Forgiveness coach, I ask my clients to find compassion-for themselves, the situation or, sometimes, their perpetrator. But what happens when the perpetrator is ourselves and the transgression is toward ourselves?
Imagine yourself: you've promised to work-out 3 times a week, yet you find yourself consistently missing the work-out. Does your Inner Critic comes alive and beat you up? Mine sounds something like this: "You are so LAZY! You LOSER!"
Before I think about whether that's true, I move into self-compassion. We've been conditioned to be so hard on ourselves that we don't treat ourselves as our own best friend. If we can't give ourselves the compassion we'd extend to another, then how do we expect to make change last?
Next time you "screw up" and your Inner Critic yells disparaging comments at you, tell her to pipe down. Then have a compassionate conversation with yourself. Compassion elicits our patience which is vital when making change. Compassion brings us in touch with our inner wisdom, allowing us to find deeper reasons for our resistance. Compassion's kindness silences our Inner Critic. And compassion has an element of perseverance which enables us to try again tomorrow.
So, next time your Inner Critic brings you down, greet her with Compassion and feel your mood lighten and your heart expand as you move forward.
To get Colleen Haggerty's complimentary eBook,
The 6 Myths of Forgiveness, visit her website:
www.colleenhaggerty.com.
