Be Kind To Yourself

@soulsings

Honestly I never really consider myself or how I'm feeling, I tend to just be there for others and not really make much fuss where I'm concerned 🩷

1 ...

I guess it depends on why the times are rough ..mostly I deal with it by not dealing with it ..

How kind are you usually to yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being the least kind and 10 being very kind)?

I'll say about a 6.5 because I'm definitely kinder to myself over half of the time. For me, it really depends on my mood and my mental state. My sane mind knows I'm worthy and deserving of being treated with kindness and love, but I'm a flawed human so sometimes I'm hardest on myself. 

How do you comfort yourself when things are tough?

I tend to talk to myself and repeat the same things over and over and over to convince myself. I guess it's just how I soothe myself to calm down. I also pray, write, take a bubble bath, listen to good music, and sleep. Ohhh yea, and food! Lol. These things comfort me. 😀

@soulsings

(73F-fr) I can't say that in my already long life, I had thought of being "kind to myself" in particular. If I am kind to others, usually kindness comes back to me. There have been instances when I rather had to kick myself for doing wrong. The rest of the time, I suppose I am kind enough to myself. 

Comfort in hard times is remembering that things like this won't last. Will it matter tomorrow or in a year? It can't be the end of the world every time, right?  These days, if anything feels tough, I can always go to bed and try again later IF it will make a difference. It's easy to ask for help too.

• How kind are you usually to yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being the least kind and 10 being very kind)? 
• How do you comfort yourself when things are tough?

@soulsings

I used to be about 2 or 3 years ago; now I would rate myself at 8 most of the time. I learned here that being harsh to myself is being mean and ignoring my needs. Mindfulness practices, and especially supportive self-talk helped me. 

@soulsings

Hi Soul! 😊  ❤️

Many thanks for such a great post! 😊❤️  It really did cause me pause, gave me an opportunity to reflect a bit. 

On a scale from 1-10, luckily I'm not a 1 and I'm definitely not a 10 either. I can say that I have gotten a lot better at extending more kindness towards myself over the past few years. There is still much room for improvement and I'm trying in that area 🫣.

Some days it might even involve how time deprived I might be and how much I can slow things down a bit, but even with that, I have at least become more determined to have a bit of sacred time to engage in self care. 

I do a variety of different things when things get tough. 

I try to slow down and engage in even more mindfulness.

Stretching is great (thank you for the tip Soul, it really has helped a lot)! 

Hot bubble baths, richly scented soap, lotion, perfume, or a nice smelling body spray is a favorite way for me to relax and be kind to myself.

Lighting a scented candle at the end of the day is a nice ritual to reward myself and to signify that it's time to relax a bit. (it can be a nice transition) 

Making time to go outside, be with nature, witness the little woodland creatures and feel the sun on my face helps me to find my center again. I love watching the trees sway when the wind blows. I like feeling the wind. When the squirrels, birds, butterflies, frogs, etc. come close to me, I see it as them extending a kindness to me. I feel like it's really intentional and that they are telling me "hi". It's a lot of trust given to a human when wildlife makes those choices to come so very close. Moments like that are so incredibly beautiful and I'm not sure if there is much more validating than that in the universe. ✨ That kind of stuff is a really big deal to me. 

I also comfort myself by a reminder that I am a human being too. I am deserving of kindness from others even if it might be a moment where I'm not the recipient of that. 

I remind myself that sometimes it's only 1% about me and 99% about them. 

I comfort myself by reminding myself that I am allowed to have boundaries. That not everyone or everything is deserving of my attention/response or access to me and my energy. 

A nice hot meal and a good nights sleep can be helpful too along with the thoughts of that tomorrow will be another day. 

Thanks again sweet friend for such an amazing post. It really felt good to sit here, spend time with you, and put things into perspective. I'll be doing many of the things listed above today. I'll tell the squirrels and birds you said "hello" too ❤️

*high fives* 😊 and *hugs* ❤️

I am often very hard on myself and very self-critical. Most days between a 3-5.

I'm kinda kinda to myself..

I seek the Lord and he provides abundant strength and comfort