Hi, and welcome to your Daily Mindfulness. Today, I'm going to talk about the link between self-compassion and success. So I think that on some level we intuitively understand this link when it comes to how we treat other people. For instance, if we're trying to help someone learn a new skill, let's say, if you were teaching a child to ride a bike, when they make a mistake or get discouraged, or when they just can't figure it out, how do we typically respond? Well, you'd probably offer kind, supportive words, right? Probably speaking in a warm and soothing tone. If they fall off the bike, maybe you'd give them a hug even to at least soothe them.

Then when they recover, chances are you'll continue to be supportive and encouraging. You know, really telling them to give it another go or if they're really exhausted and really disheartened, really fed up, maybe you'd suggest they just take a rest and reassure them that they can try again tomorrow. And they will eventually be able to ride that bike with a little bit more patience, little bit more practice, a little bit more persistence. Now, take a moment to reflect on how you treat yourself when you make a mistake, fail or experience a setback. If you're like most people, you probably are a lot tougher on yourself.

You know, that inner critic often pops up. You know, oh, I'm so stupid. I never get anything right. Or we start to ruminate about all our flaws and shortcomings. Perhaps, we start really having very deep, doubting beliefs or thoughts.

You know, I'm not smart enough to do this. I'll never get this. Now can you imagine if you were saying this to someone who just fell off the bike, like you're so stupid, I just don't think you're a bike riding kind of person. That's a pretty tough environment to get back on the bike. Right? Well, of course, when we speak to ourselves like that in a harsh and critical way, it definitely makes it harder for us to learn from our mistakes and to stay motivated to try again, and have the confidence that if we just keep at it, we will achieve our goals.

So with this in mind, it should come as no surprise that there's a substantial body of research that shows that the skill of self-compassion is closely correlated to three key skills that lead to success - resilience, the ability to recognize and learn from our mistakes, and the ability to keep motivating ourselves to succeed. So how can we use self-compassion to help us learn, grow and be more effective on our path through life. Basically, you want to learn to treat yourself with the same kindness and encouragement and support that you would give to a friend, shifting the inner critic to become more like an inner coach or a supportive friend. Now, of course, self-compassion is a skill. This does take practice.

But it's really worth the effort. So instead of being hard on yourself, when you fail fall, or have a setback, try to meet each one of those moments with self-compassion. And when you do that, you'll be able to dust yourself off, pick yourself up again, and try again more quickly. You'll also be making gains in inner strength, resilience, and wisdom every step of the way. So as always, thank you for your practice and your presence here with us.

And let's settle in now for today's meditation.