Self-Compassion

Self-compassion is your greatest source of strength (Photo credit: wildphotons)

Nine Strategies Successful People Use to Overcome Stress

This is a really great blog I had to share by Dr. Heidi Grant Halvorson on the Harvard Business Review Blog Network.  She is Associate Director for the Motivation Science Center at the Columbia University Business School and author of Nine Things Successful People Do Differently and Focus: Use Different Ways of Seeing the World to Power Influence and Success.

The first item on her list is to have self-compassion. I couldn’t agree more that’s why I am sharing this with you.  Especially now that the holidays are over and you are back in the “swing of things.”

Dr. Halvorson writes that Self-compassion is, in essence, cutting yourself some slack.  It’s being willing to look at your mistakes or failures with kindness and understanding — without harsh criticism or defensiveness.  Studies show that people who are self-compassionate are happier, more optimistic, and less anxious and depressed. That’s probably not surprising.  But here’s the kicker: they are more successful, too.  Most of us believe that we need to be hard on ourselves to perform at our best, but it turns out that’s 100 percent wrong.  A dose of self-compassion when things are at their most difficult can reduce your stress and improve your performance, by making it easier to learn from your mistakes.  So remember that to err is human, and give yourself a break.

Cover via Amazon

Related articles

• 9 strategies for a successful mindset in the face of stress (holykaw.alltop.com)
• Compassion to self (heartsongsblog.wordpress.com)
• Self-Compassion Is More Important To Success Than Self-Esteem (lifehacker.com.au)