Compassion for others begins with kindness to ourselves

Compassion for others begins with kindness to ourselves. ~Pema Chodron

You’re the leader who cares about everyone on the team. You do a personal check-in to see how each person is doing, and you’re understanding when they need to take time off, handle something personal, or just have an off day.

What about your off day? Do you understand when you need time off, need to handle something personal, or don’t perform at your best? Or do you push yourself to keep going, to power through, or to suck it up?

If there’s a difference between how you treat yourself and how you treat others, there will be a breaking point. There will be a day when your personal stress gets too high, and you snap at your team. There will be a day when you are passive aggressive about someone needing time off. 

Compassion for others begins with kindness to ourselves. ~Pema Chodron

See also, who you are is how you lead. ~Brene Brown

Or, in short – if you want to give it to others, you’ve gotta start with the person in the mirror. ~Lara Heacock w/ some help from Michael Jackson

This is the season of giving. It’s the holidays, and we’re thinking about giving to others. Giving to others is a beautiful thing, and I encourage everyone to find ways to do that…and to also give to yourself. Not necessarily with a material gift, although those are a wonderful gesture, but give to yourself with your presence.

How can you show up for yourself in the same way you strive to show up for others?
What do you need to be able to lead the way you want to lead?
What practices or habits or tools help you keep your foundation strong so that you can weather storms? 

These can be great journaling prompts, or simply questions to help you reflect. As 2020 winds down as the hardest year of many people’s lives, kindness to ourselves is more important than ever. Without this piece, it’s impossible to sustain our compassion for others.