My journey to self-kindness…

I truly enjoy being kind to others and being kind comes easily to me. If someone needs my help, I’m happy to offer my time and ideas. If someone is hurting, I want to give comfort and compassion. If someone makes a mistake or is having a bad day, I am available to convey to them “we all make mistakes” and “everything is going to be all right”. Whether my kindness toward others is planned and intentional (I often try to think of things to do for people or small gifts of encouragement) or a surprise (sometimes, I like to practice the idea of random acts of kindness), being kind to others is something I really appreciate doing.

However, when it comes to myself, and practicing self-kindness, I have not always found the same ease or enjoyment. I think a lot of us find it relatively easy to be kind to others, and, without hesitation, we are available to offer what we have. And yet, when it comes to being kind to ourselves, we are not…. I find I am actually, the opposite of kind to myself sometimes. I can be critical, judgmental, disparaging, and harsh.

So, I decided to start reading and researching on self-kindness and as I read, I learned all different aspects about being kind to yourself and also the plethora of benefits. Then, I decided to combine my work with young girls with my new revelations about self-kindness to write a book called: Self-Kindness for Girls: teaching girls to be kind, caring, loving, and gentle with themselves.

I decided to create a self-kindness rainbow where each of the seven colours of the rainbow would explore a unique component of self-kindness. I love the philosophy of “as you learn, teach”. So, this book is me offering you what I have learned so far about self-kindness.

Self-kindness is being kind, caring, loving, compassionate, gentle, warm, generous, and nice to yourself. It is non-judgmental openness toward yourself and it can promote self-awareness, self-appreciation, and self-love. Self-kindness is an attitude of loving kindness and an appreciation for who you are, exactly as you are. Self-kindness is not critical or harsh or negative in any way. Self-kindness is a practice that you can choose to do and a decision you make each and every day to treat yourself the way you deserve to be treated. By practicing self-kindness, you are sending yourself the gentle message that you are worth it and that you have value. Self-kindness can become a very positive habit that you embrace as you go along on your journey…