Treating yourself with kindness

Kindness apparently in today's world is not cool. It seems that in our busy world we have forgotten the importance of kindness. Not only are acts of kindness good for those around us but how they make us feel can not be matched. Being kind to someone else gives us that feeling of accomplishment, the warm fuzzy feeling inside which is priceless.

But what about ourselves? Do we need someone else to be kind to us or is it possible that we can be kind to ourselves? Why do we never consider that empathising and acknowledging ourselves can be just as fulfilling. While I had these thoughts, I suddenly thought, what an incredible challenge this could be.

My May challenge, is to be present with myself. Not to simply acknowledge my achievements or my goals, but to take time away from the to do list, the schedule and the planner and to be present in the moment with me. A moment to be grateful that I am here, to be kind to me, to not expect others to show me kindness, to take the responsibility to cherish who I am and to think deeply about what I consider acts of kindness.

It is true that no one knows me better than I do, so how can I expect others to be kind to me if I am not being kind to myself? What do I expect as an act of kindness, it must be different for everyone, we are all unique . For the next 30 days, join me in taking time to discover what give you that warm fuzzy feelings inside, what makes you feel cared for, what act of kindness makes you smile? I'd love to hear your experiences, please let me know in the comments.

There are lots of ways that we can show ourselves kindness,

• Carving time for yourself

• self recognition

• self forgiveness

• taking care of yourself

• self respect

• personal treats

• gratitude

• self praise

• pamper yourself

• self investment

The list can go on and on but these are not the acts of kindness that I think of when I am considering this challenge.

For me when considering an act of kindness for me, I think about what I would consider being kind to someone else, what would I do for you that I would never normally do for myself ?

so...... I would never send myself flowers, I would never send myself a greeting card, I would never send myself a hand written letter of gratitude, I would never send myself a gift box or invite myself on a girlie date day.

The simple things that we wouldn't think twice about doing for a friend are my challenges to give to myself, the experiment to see if I can make myself have those warm fuzzy feelings that gifts from others can give me. Have fun and join me on this adventure.

xx Lei

THE FIRST RULE OF KINDNESS IS TO BE KIND TO YOURSELF - Anon