Compassion towards ourselves and towards others is a powerful tool to overcome low self-esteem. Yet, compassion is not really appreciated wholeheartedly.
A deep-seated cultural habit in the West is to fight for our goals and overcome difficulties with the force of will. To encourage you to familiarize yourself with compassion, I have put together its many benefits. (Taken from my book Natural Self Esteem)
1. Compassion is essential for change. The things we do not accept as part of our being tend to stick even harder. When we try to put our unwanted feelings or thoughts in the basement, they cry even louder. But after turning towards them in a compassionate way, they will be prepared to change.
2. Compassion is the most effective measure against your Inner Critic. To change from a harsh, critical voice to a compassionate one will almost immediately dismantle the Inner Critic. Without his abrasive, judgmental voice, he is no longer able to attack you.
3. Compassion exposes your sense of self-worth: As Christopher Germer in his book The Mindful Path to Self-compassion points out, research shows that self-compassionate people have higher self-esteem. Thus, just by practicing compassion, you raise your level of self-esteem.
4. Compassion is a quality of your Natural Self. By being compassionate you express your Natural Self. And by expressing it you also practice being in the state of the Natural Self. Bringing more compassion into your life will in that way strengthen the availability of the Natural Self.
5. Compassion directed towards others is a great tool to turn around one of the main projections that relate to low self-esteem. Instead of suffering passively, you actively turn towards others. And this turnaround of intention will lift up your self-esteem immediately.
6. Compassion benefits your health. Several scientific types of research show that compassion, practiced on a regular basis, can significantly improve the immune system and reduce the impact of stress on the body.
If you want to profit from these many benefits of compassion, you should practice it on a daily basis. You can learn how to practice compassion in my book or in the book mentioned above by Christopher Germer.
Interesting post, I feel it is especially important to address and have compassion for feelings, rather than putting them to one side.
Yes – Everyone has it’s own style and do differently and I realy like yours. Thanks –
I think I’ve not read you for many and I should – so let’s see what you got new on your blog.