What is
Self-Compassion?
"When faced with difficult life struggles, or confronting personal mistakes, failures, and inadequacies, self-compassion responds with kindness rather than harsh self-judgment, recognizing that imperfection is part of the shared human experience. In order to give oneself compassion, one must be able to turn toward, acknowledge, and accept that one is suffering, meaning that mindfulness is a core component of self-compassion".
- Kristin Neff
Self-compassion has three key components:
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Self-kindness opens our hearts to our suffering, so we can better nurture ourselves.
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Awareness of our common humanity opens us to our interconnectedness with others, so we know that we are not alone.
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Mindfulness opens us to the present moment, so we can accept our experiences with greater ease.
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Together, these components create a state of warm, connected presence.
We are all capable of self-compassion: it is an innate source of resilience and emotional strength that anyone can access. Research shows that self-compassion is closely related to emotional well-being and lower levels of anxiety, depression and stress. It promotes healthy habits, such as a good diet and physical exercise, leads to more fulfilling interpersonal relationships and helps prevent occupational burnout.