A theme that’s been coming up in my client meetings this week (peer development groups) has been how to calm down and re-center when we are feeling anything but calm and centered. These are situations where we are emotionally triggered and tend to behave in a way we later regret. Where we feel negative inside, and cast a negative shadow towards others. Where we are treating people badly because we feel bad. Where we feel depleted, burned out, and are pulling others into our undertow.
I find self-compassion to be such a powerful practice in these situations. It takes so little time, yet changes the quality of our time. It costs nothing, yet is priceless. It is regenerative, not depleting. It is the equivalent of experiencing a drop in cabin pressure, placing our own oxygen mask on first, and then being about to help others put on their oxygen masks. But how do you do it?
