Self Compassion

For the past few years I’ve been doing Gretchen Rubin’s goal challenge. For example 23 goals for 2023, 24 goals for 2024. But I found after I made the list I was kind of forgetting it existed and not following through. This year I decided to do something different. I have one goal for every month and I’m really focusing on it. I’m hoping that they’ll become habits and I’ll incorporate them into my life even after the month is over. Honestly, I don’t have all twelve months planned yet, and I don’t think I’m going to write about them here, but I did want to talk about January’s goal: being kinder to myself. 

I really love the Instagram account Positively Present and I’ve done a couple of her workbooks this month. I did a self love one, an opening your mind one, and now I’m doing a finding yourself one. They’ve definitely helped me to be a bit kinder to myself. I also continued self compassion journaling from Kristen Neff’s self compassion workbook. 

I wish I had thought to take Kristin Neff’s self compassion quiz before I started this but I didn’t. I did do it about a year ago when I read her book and it said I had low levels of self compassion. However, I’ve taken it in the past, and I took it again at the end of the month and this time it said I have moderate levels of self compassion, which is better than it was. 

I’m certainly not perfect, and I’m definitely still mean to myself from time to time, but it’s not as bad as it was. I’ve signed up for some skills based therapy that will allow me to regulate my emotions better and be kinder to myself and others.