Getting Down On Yourself
Photo by Rosie Kerr on Unsplash
In-between searching for jobs and my readings, I’ve come across some sound advice for those who are feeling down.
Self-compassion.
“It’s easy to get down on yourself for being less than perfect, or to compare yourself to others and find yourself lacking. It’s important to take care of yourself throughout this process.”
This quote popped out to me during one of my readings and I believe it can help you.
This “process” it’s talking about is job searching, but I believe you can change it to whatever you may be going through. Maybe it’s exercise. Maybe it’s relationships. Or maybe, it’s your hobbies or passions that you’ve been working on for awhile.
We need to show ourselves compassion. If we’re hard on ourselves over and over again, we will burn out.
What does taking care of ourselves look like then?
“Set up rewards for taking action, regardless of the outcome. Seek support when you need it. Silence the inner critic and focus on gratitude and what went well each day.”
Set up rewards - treat yourself to something after a days work. An hours work. Ten minutes of work. Grab some food with friends. Do a little shopping. Whatever it is, treat yourself! You deserve it for taking action! (Of course, be responsible in your self-rewarding.)
Ask for help - when you’ve hit a wall, ask for help. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help because it’s all for the betterment of you! It’s not a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of wanting to improve!
Focus on gratitude - it’s easy to criticize ourselves and compare our work to others. We always see the end results of everyone else. But they are going through the same thoughts that you and I are having right now. And instead of beating ourselves down, focus on what we were able to do that day!
So instead of beating ourselves down, show yourself some compassion. You deserve it! You and I are working through things daily. And by focusing on the small victories each day, we will continue to improve and move forward!
All quotes in this post are from What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard N. Bolles with Katharine Brooks
