Something I heard from a podcast not too long ago got me thinking. The conversation was centered around self-talk and our internal conversation.
Something I heard from a podcast not too long ago got me thinking. The conversation was centered around self-talk and our internal conversation.
What struck me right between the eyes was this: If you wouldn’t talk to someone else in a certain way, why would you talk to yourself that way?
Ouch.
I do my best to speak to people in a way that resonates for them, not just me. Why then is it so hard to speak to myself in a way that resonates for me?
I used to be critical and harsh on myself in the past when it came to failure. I would really speak to myself in unhealthy ways. Maybe you’ve done this too.
I have switched to showing compassion to myself when I make a mistake. Sure we are all prone to wanting to defend and fight but “Beneath the instinct to fight there lurks a divine instinct to love.” -Inazo Nitobe
In order to truly live we will make mistakes. It is a fact of life. Anyone that has ever tried to run a business, start a new job, develop a new skill/talent/hobby knows this well.
So I have started to really make this Japanese proverb something I reflect on regularly.
人生に失敗がないと人生を失敗する (jinsei ni shippai ga nai to jinsei wo shippai suru) which when interpreted in English means “A life without failure, is a failure.”
This has changed my perspective on trying things and learning new things. In my opinion, this is the path to work:life harmony. Trying things and failing. Then trying something else until you find something that resonates so much with your being that you cannot deny it.
How do you view failure? Are you hard on yourself or others?
#failureissuccess #compassion #selftalk #chowa #worklifeharmony
Steve Beauchamp 