After running workshops, corporate groups and coaching clients for the last 12 months, I noticed something quite surprising and staggering which is the inner critic in us and how it is harming our health.
We have 20,000 to 75,000 thoughts on average per day and The National Science Foundation reports that 80 percent of our thoughts are negative, and 95 percent of our thoughts are repetitive. And your cells hear every thought you are thinking and impacts on how they function biologically and physiologically.
Dr Jill Bolte Taylor believes that: “When a person has a reaction to something in their environment, there’s a 90-second chemical process that happens; any remaining emotional response is just the person choosing to stay in that emotional loop.”
Chemicals like Cortisol and adrenaline will flush through you and flush out of you in less than 90 seconds. So from the moment you think the thought that triggers that whole cascade of events to the chemical flushing out of you takes less than 90 seconds.” Our brains cannot distinguish between what is real or perceived, so negative thoughts repeatedly will trigger stress hormones to be released into your blood stream continuously, causing chronic illness like Diabetes, Dementia, Hypertension etc.
So how do we increase compassion to self?
When things do not go to plan, you stop to tell yourself “this is really difficult right now,” how can I comfort and care for myself in this moment? ,like you would to your best friend or child. Of course, it’s easier said than done and it requires daily practice and will become second nature soon.
Perhaps most importantly, having compassion for yourself means that you honour and accept your humanness. The more you open to this reality and work with it instead of constantly fighting against it, the more you will be able to feel compassion for yourself and your fellow humans in the experience of life.
May I be strong
May I be kind to myself
May I believe in myself
May I give myself the compassion that I need
May I be patient
May I learn to accept myself as I am
May I trust my goodness
Dr Kristin Neff
Try this for 7 days and be curious on how you feel?