The Magic Wand of Kindness

My task this week is to write one kind thing about myself daily. For some reason, that is harder than my predictive analytics homework.

Why is that so difficult? Why does that make me cringe internally? Why is being a friend to myself so much harder than being a friend to others? If you asked me to say a kind thing to a friend, I’d have multiple at the ready. For myself, I draw a complete blank. To the point I am barely able to form words.

Maybe after so many years of tearing myself down, reversing course and choosing kindness is too foreign. It is so much easier to spot the flaws, the imperfections, and the bad decisions (both past and present).

I do wonder if the tendency to tear oneself down contributes to results we don’t want in life. The extra weight, the sleepless nights, the added stress, the cortisol spikes…what if being kind to yourself alleviated those problems? Would we be more inclined to choose that instead of choosing self-deprecation?

I truly wish I knew the answer to all of this. If kindness is the true ‘magic wand’…then I need to learn how to wield it. Sprinkle that magical fairy dust on all of the areas of life that I would like to improve, and watch the magic happen.

In psychology, this is “Cognitive Behavioral Therapy” or CBT. I’ve learned a lot about that this past year. Tapping is one way to reprogram those thoughts and introduce new ones. The hardest part of this is recognizing the negativity my brain spews in order to replace it with more positivity, though I have improved at this, even if it is a very little bit.

So, since it has been four days since I’ve gotten this assignment, and I have yet to write a single kind thing about myself, I will start today. I will also commit to tapping daily, to gauge how that affects my self-talk.

My first self-kindness: I’m proud of myself for admitting how unkind I usually am to myself. That is the first step to make a positive change. I can do this!