Healing Practices and Self-Nurturing Rituals Series Continued
One difficult fact of life for many people to accept is the fact that nobody is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes – even your friends, family members, and acquaintances that have seemingly picture-perfect lives!
An excellent way to heal and self-nurture is to forgive yourself for making mistakes. It’s difficult to navigate the aftermath of a mistake. For example, you may feel embarrassment or shame for whatever you did that resulted in the mistake. Those tough emotions can weigh on you heavily, causing you stress, anxiety, and an inability to move forward with life.
Learning how to forgive yourself is difficult and may require lots of practice. Over time, you’ll notice it becomes easier as you open your heart to yourself. Unfortunately, people tend to be their own worst critics. When you learn how to let go of past mistakes and offer yourself forgiveness, you’ll feel the weight lift off your own mind and spirit.
Forgive Others (Do It For Yourself)
Just as forgiving yourself can be a challenge, forgiving others for things they’ve done wrongly toward you can be just as difficult. It’s tough to let go of old transgressions, especially when the other person did something particularly hurtful.
However, learning to forgive others provides similar relief to forgiving yourself. When you forgive others, you’re also giving yourself permission to let go of your big emotions and hard feelings toward that other person. Doing so takes pressure off your own mind and spirit.
When you aren’t wasting time being angry at the other person, you’ll notice that you aren’t caught in those emotions. Forgiving others doesn’t release them from what they did wrong, but it does release you from the fraught emotions that come with holding those sorts of grudges.
Show Yourself Kindness
Showing yourself kindness can be a challenge. There are going to be times when you want to be mean or unfair to yourself. Whether you’re dealing with insecurities, pressuring yourself to perform at your peak, or upset with yourself for making a mistake, it can feel almost too easy to slide into negative self-talk.
Instead of retreating into self-deprecating behaviors, challenge yourself to treat yourself the same way you’d treat your best friend. Show yourself the same amount of grace and kindness you’d show your best friend if they made the same mistake you did, for example.
If your best friend made a mistake, how would you speak to them to make them feel better about the situation? Extending that same kindness and understanding to yourself is a vital way to self-nurture and heal, especially if you’ve experienced a challenging situation.
Do Something Special For Someone You Care About
Surprising someone with a fun gift or act of kindness is an excellent way to heal your inner self, mind, and spirit. Not only does your someone special get an extra boost of love from you, but you also leave the interaction feeling rewarded.
Your “something special” doesn’t need to be anything big or elaborate (though it certainly can be if you want to plan something huge). For example, you could surprise your partner with their favorite meal, treat your coworker to a coffee from their favorite bistro, or buy your friend a present they’ve been eyeing for a while. Doing something special for people you care about is an instant mood booster for everyone involved!
Let Go Of Those Things You Cannot Control
If you could have total control over everything in life, everything would be perfect. Unfortunately, nobody is perfect – this is a universal truth for everyone!
When you’re struggling to maintain your sense of control over everything happening in your life, allow yourself the opportunity to let go of things you cannot control. When you give yourself this gift, you lift a large burden from your spirit. Accepting your lack of control is a big first step toward healing your inner self, mind, and spirit.
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