“Treat yourself as you would a good friend.”

Look up the definition of self-care, and you will find this quote. If your friend was struggling, you would be kind, understanding, and compassionate. Don’t treat yourself any differently.

While studies show that people fear if they are too soft on themselves they will become self-indulgent, the opposite is actually true. People who treat themselves well actually show improved health, happiness, and work productivity.

My philosophy is that we are all learning along our self-awareness journey. Don’t be too hard on yourself during the process. We tend to expect that things should be done a certain way, and we set ourselves up with expectations. We should step back and not be judgmental. We need to live moment to moment. Things do take time. We need to give ourselves the same pep talks and the same permissions we would give to our friends. We should practice self-encouragement.

Instead of giving a voice to destructive and debilitating thoughts that may arise, we should quiet them and figure out what can be learned from them. Ask yourself: what just happened, and what choices can I make to move myself forward?

To listen to the entire conversation from my recent Instagram Live on “Owning your Personal Power,” click here.