Compassion – the act of giving love and care towards yourself and others.
I sat with this word last week wondering, ‘how do we get each other to take self-compassion seriously?’ Because the whole ‘fill your own cup up before you fill others’, doesn’t seem to work. It’s a lovely saying that logically makes sense, but acting on it is another thing.
For me, taking compassion seriously starts with taking yourself seriously. You have to truly believe you’re worthy of care and love in order to believe it’s a priority.
This didn’t hit home for me until a few years ago – I found myself running down the road in my pjs at 2 in the morning, like a crazy lady, having a full-on night terror.
This experience shook me.
It forced me to acknowledge the fact I’d tapped out all my resources and I was mentally and physically exhausted. I had to start taking responsibility for myself or my life would come apart.
Leading up to that moment I’d been denying myself compassion. I had constantly been putting other needs and priorities above my own self-care. Why? Because I was hustling for my worthiness. I thought I had to constantly prove I was good enough, and that meant I had to keep pushing myself further and further. Self-care would be the reward at the end of it all.
But that’s the catch – if you withhold compassion for yourself until others give you their approval or permission, you will always be hustling. Your needs will never be a priority next to theirs. Therefore, you have to claim ownership of yourself.
Claiming ownership looks like…
- Knowing you’re worthy of love and care – regardless if others give it to you.
- Knowing how to prioritise yourself, your health, your time.
- Knowing you’re the one responsible for your needs and getting these met.
Over to you…Where are you needing to claim more ownership of your life?
