10 Ways To Be Kinder To Yourself Today
5. Throughout the day stop and check if you are internally (or externally…) talking to yourself as you would to someone you love.
1. Start off the day with a full glass of water. Help clean your system of yesterday.
2. Begin your meditation habit. Today. Just five minutes of observing what kind of thoughts shoot through your brain all day. They always leave their mark…
3. Journal your experience. You may find you are being surprisingly hard on yourself. Most people are.
4. Practice mindfulness. Keep coming back to now. Remember that worrying about the future and ruminating about the past make you more miserable than you already may be and do nothing to support you. This habit may take a lifetime to break but every step in the right direction will be worthwhile. Here is a Ted talk about the basics of meditation and mindfulness.
5. Throughout the day stop and check if you are internally (or externally…) talking to yourself as you would to someone you love. If you aren’t, forgive yourself, and move on from there.
6. Take five deep belly breaths several times throughout the day. You can do it anywhere: in your car, in your office, in the shower, before you eat a meal, alone or with your partner as you prepare to sleep. Full breaths help you to balance the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your blood, helping your entire body function at a more optimal level.
7. Create a soothing habit, something you can practice daily. Maybe it’s a cup of tea before beginning the day, or phoning a loved one, or making the bed.
8. At the end of the day, write down what you’ve accomplished. You got a new job? Awesome! You showered and put on a change of clothes? Awesome! You talked to someone you’ve been crushing on? Regardless of the result, awesome!
9. If you are going through a rough time, remember that everything changes. It may not change in the way you’d like it to, and that simply is not in your control. If you remember that nothing is static, and are able to relinquish the illusion of being in control, it may take a load off your heart.
10. Re-parent yourself. Most of us didn’t receive everything we needed from our parents. That doesn’t make them bad people, it just makes them people. Nourish yourself, congratulate yourself, support yourself, stand up for yourself, make yourself feel safe. Others can only give it to you to a certain extent, because deep down, everyone is looking for that safety, validation, and love. Understand that and have compassion for the shared human experience. 
