Be kind to yourself

“I dreamed I called you on the telephone to say: Be kinder to yourself.” ~Adrienne Rich, poet and essayist

In her hit song, “Harshest Critic,” Allison Ponthier asks: “Why is ‘being good to myself’ for someone else?” and “Who’s the harshest critic in the room?” I think we all know the answer. Most of us are incredibly hard on ourselves.

On one hand, constructive self-criticism can be helpful at times (though a true narcissist would disagree). Most of us learn from our mistakes or oversights when we’re willing to admit them and repair the damages. We can grow from the soil of what went wrong.

But if we get stuck in the mire of perfectionism and debilitating self-doubt, we end up eroding our own self-confidence. Today’s quote from poet Adrienne Rich reminds each of us to get out of our own way. Be kinder to yourself. ~CL