Blog
Seasonal Self-Care
As daylight savings time ends and the weather grows colder, you might find your mood changing and your motivation waning. Here are a few tips that might be helpful as you prepare for the change of seasons and the upcoming holidays:
Quiet your inner critic with self compassion
If you’re like most women I know and work with you’re way more critical of yourself than you are towards other people. We have a harsh voice running in our minds all day long: “why did I say that?” … “I really should lose weight” … “I’m so stupid and can’t do anything right”.
Instead of judging yourself, try self-compassion. Dr. Kristin Neff describes self-compassion as having the same kindness and understanding towards yourself that you have towards others when they are having a difficult time.
Love yourself first, then you can love others better. Loving-kindness meditation.
We often find it difficult to love ourselves first. Why is that? Perhaps we got the message from a young age that putting our needs first, or even loving ourselves, was selfish. And selfish is bad, so be sure to always consider others first. How has that internalized message been working of you? It's silly to fight with old standing beliefs we have about ourselves that no longer serve us. Instead, it's more helpful to acknowledge what is true and stick to it, even when it means redirecting yourself over and over again.