Kindness is often thought of something we do for other people. It is an attribute that is often high on people’s list of things they would most like to be thought of. Doing kind and lovely gestures for those around you is rewarding in so many ways. The person receiving it and you when you do it…………..
But what about being kind to yourself?
How often do you think about that?
Are you kind in the things that you say to yourself?
We talk about acts of kindness especially to others, but how about kindness talk, especially to ourselves. After all we spend a huge amount of time in our own heads. We listen constantly to the negative voice. Is it saying words of kindness or a whole lot of crap?!
Superman had kryptonite, which drained him of his strength, disrupting his energy. We have the negative voice that does that to us all the time. Kindness self talk is the negative voice’s kryptonite.
We don’t realise how many times a day we talk to ourselves in a negative way that isn’t kind. It can be as simple as ‘I’m so stupid’. Remember the brain doesn’t know what is real & what isn’t so it believes what we say to ourselves. So, we can start being kind to ourselves by changing the way we talk. Instead of telling ourselves unkindly that we’re stupid, that makes us feel like shit. We can say things like ‘whoops I made a mistake.’ It’s a little thing that can make a great deal of difference. After all we ALL make mistakes and that is what you would say to someone else. Think of yourself as your own best friend. You wouldn’t tell them they were stupid (lol, cos they would punch you……..well Tracey would me!)
Being kind to ourselves is not a selfish act either. We are often led to believe (by you know who………..the negative voice) that it is. Society can say that this is the case. Let us tell you one thing we know for sure………….it isn’t! In fact being kind to you, is one of the most selfless acts you can complete.
Showing kindness to others is another way to show kindness to ourselves. There is a huge ripple effect when you show one act of kindness to another person. We feel good for doing the act, the person receiving feels great too and will then pass it on. And the ripple keeps going to many other people. So just one act from one person affects many more than we ever thought possible. Here is a quote from Dr David Hamilton and a link to his kindness blog. He explains the science behind how and why this works.
“One thing I’ve learned over the years of trying to be a little kinder is that what might seem like a small act for you might mean the world to the person you help.” Dr David Hamilton.
https://drdavidhamilton.com/the-most-contagious-thing-is-kindness/
Being kind lowers your cortisol levels (the stress hormone) and increases your feel good hormones (dopamine). What is not to like about that, that can only make us feel amazing right? And we all want to feel amazing because we are amazing.
If we all just shared a little bit of kindness every day, what an awesome effect this would have on the world. What an incredible place we can make it.
We CAN make a difference.
Love Lynne and Tracey xxx