Self compassion is a value that provides a great foundation for emotional wellness, self-love, and kindness without suffering or self-criticism. Yet so many clients struggle with feeling unworthy and are plagued with feelings of guilt, shame, doubt,fear and stress.
The nurturing quality of self compassion helps us to rewire destructive patterns of negativity and in turn focus on what brings us joy.
In my role as a coach I acknowldge where my clients are coming from and how their belief system and how their belief system and patterns oh behaviour shape their reality. I often ask questions that reframe a situation and cause a client to shift their perspective which leads to new behaviours.
There appears to be some attention in social media about the subject of compassion towards humans and animals. There is an upheaval in the news when we see an injustice taking place, a lack of kindness, a void of empathy and compassion towards others. How are we to expect that people will act compassionately towards one another when they may have not mastered self compassion?
Self compassion requires us to embrace our imperfect conditions and qualities to care more about ourselves, connecting in a bigger way with the people around us. Self compassion is often thought to be the same as self esteem; they are different yet have a close relationship to one another. Generally, if someone has high self esteem they will generally have more self compassion, happiness, positivity, and less self critisim, anxiety and depression.
Wellness coaching emphasizes connect to oneself, understanding the client`s core values, and how they manifest their behaviours and decision making. Supporting a client to explore the deeper parts of themselves helps them to understand what matters to them. Actions are a product of thoughts, so if a client is not in a resourceful state, this may result in a client acting out of fear or some other subconsciously belief. A coach uses strategies to tap into a client`s subconscious mind to discover any self-limiting beliefs and support them on their wellness journey by consciously focusing on how they want to show up in the world. Wellness coaching ultimately focuses on the overall well being of the client. Having self compassion is having a loving awareness of ourselves and the emotions that we feel.
Everyone can learn to be more self compassionate with daily consistent practice and being kind to oneself epecially in the face of negativity. Wellness coaching offers simple, strategic ways to tap into a client’s inherent potential to develop compassion, kindness and love and to negate feelings of doubt, anxiety and stress. Above all, a coach reminds us of how incredibly unique and special we are in this community of humanity.
Be kind to yourself and others.
Author: Leah Ruppel, B.A.
