We Dream Of Genie: Self-Compassion For Our Wish For A Universal Remedy
Self-Compassion For the Ultimate Cure
We need self-compassion for seeking absolute panaceas: things, philosophies, and behaviors that claim they will solve all of our problems. There is something to be said about 5 minute, 2 minute, 7 minute, and 10 minute intervals. Have you noticed?
All around us there are marketing campaigns that use these time intervals to promise us perfect abs, shapely bodies, intelligence, good jobs, wealth, health, and happiness. Secretly, we hope that one of these things will cure all of our problems. Can you blame us? We are so exhausted from taking care of everything else that a few minutes feels like all we have. Has anybody seen that stinking genie?
This short amount of time will not solve your problems, and following these formulas may make you feel like a failure, but you are not. You are a believer, a hoper, a champion of optimism, and that is what will get you from today until tomorrow. So, we are grateful for that!
Life is hard. It makes sense that you would like some important things to come easy to you. If I could, I would send you these perfect bodies, brilliant brains, giant vaults of money, but I doubt they would make you happy. Happiness is an inside job. It comes from deciding that you will love yourself, and will only tolerate the company of those the pledge to do the same. This is why self-compassion is so important to our life. We need it to navigate our way to true and fulfilling happiness.
A Quick Self-Compassionate Exercise To Get You What You Truly Need
By now, you know I am fond of quick exercises that can get you results. Mostly, because I am aware that these entries have the power to raise your hopefulness and then diminish it, if you are not given tools to keep this good life momentum going.
One thing that we can take from the aforementioned cure-alls is that people enjoy focusing intently for a few minutes at a time, as long as they can see some immediate results. Let’s work with that.
Try this exercise:
I want you to close your eyes and imagine your ideal place. In this ideal place, you can have three things to eat, three things to drink, three things to wear, three things to do, and five people with whom you can spend your time. Imagine these things now. Then make a list and write them down. This should take you no longer than 3 minutes. Now make a plan for how you can fit these choices into the next two weeks. Make it a month, if two weeks seems too difficult. This should probably take you another 3 minutes. Take two minutes to acknowledge how hard it was to make these choices, and what you had to give up. With your final two minutes, breathe in the well-being that comes with successfully taking action to ensure your true needs are being met.
Profound Results
You have just completed a 10 minute exercise that will surely bring you profound results in terms of living a joyous, meaningful life of ease. You probably also realize how hard it is to fit all that your heart needs into such little time. Despite the trouble, you did it anyway. Just imagine what you could have done with an hour or more. If you find yourself chasing the universal remedies, it is a sure sign that your heart is feeling empty. Use this exercise to fill it up, and reap the benefits.
365 Days of Kindness. Self-Compassion. Day 123. In The Books.