Over the last two months, I’ve been creating a new podcast series – I’m so excited to share it with you, but I’ve got to tell you it has been sooooo dang HARD!!
The main reason it’s been so hard is because I’ve been having negative thoughts about myself throughout the process. Thoughts like, “Who’s going to listen to you?” and “You don’t have anything to say,” and “You’ve lost your voice.” These are just a few examples, but you get the idea.
Mean, mean thoughts were running around inside my head, and I was believing every single one of them, despite the fact that I constantly teach clients how to handle this stuff.
This realization got me thinking about you, my clients. I know this is what you do, too! And I know you think it will make you do better, lose weight, move more. But do you really think being mean to yourself will help you do NICER things for yourself??
Why do we think having harsh, mean thoughts about ourselves on a regular basis is going to help us take better care of ourselves?
So, this is where I tell you what I decided to do, and invite you to join me on my 30 Day Compassion Challenge.
For the next 30 days, we will show ourselves compassion every time a mean thought arises in our minds. We will observe the mean thought and replace it with compassion. For instance, when I sit down to write my next episode and a thought arises like, “You have nothing to say,” I will observe this thought and then answer it with, “My sweet darling girl, don’t be so hard on yourself. You have so much to say.” (And I know I do.) That means 30 days without beatings. It sounds like heaven, and it’s all up to me and my mind.
According to emotion researchers, compassion is defined as the feeling that arises when you are confronted with another person’s suffering and feel motivated to relieve that suffering.
Meaning when you find yourself suffering over what you’re telling yourself, you will feel motivated to relieve that suffering. So then you question the cruel thought and ask yourself, “Is that really true?” My guess is the opposite is equally as true, so what will you choose to believe? Then, you talk to yourself as you would your beloved.
Why don’t you try doing this on the topic eating and see how it feels? No matter what you observe, use your own compassion to help relieve your own suffering. If you feel better, you just might treat yourself better. Go on, try it!
Dr. Deb
