Do You Need a Fresh Perspective?

I’m having a lot of “not good enough” thoughts come up right now around parenting. Some days, all I can do is take it hour by hour, breathe and pray. My productivity at work has suffered and I’m finding myself hopping on the worry train way too often. I know this is a temporary state, but when I’m in it, it’s easy to see everything that’s not working, rather than everything that is.

A winter photo from a recent work trip to Kripalu in the MA Berkshire mountains. Every time I change environments, it shifts my perspective.

Yesterday, out of sheer desperation, I meditated three times (meditation often helps me “clean my lens”). What motivated me to do this? Even though I felt awful, I knew my perspective was off.  My thinking was muddy. Skewed.

I acknowledged where I was and stopped trying to change things. And, I stepped back and looked at the big picture: our family is navigating a lot of transitions, being 16 and differentiating from your parents is no easy task, 11th grade for kids is often the most stressful year and when I’m not sleeping great, nothing looks right.

Yesterday, I finally stopped trying to get stuff done and went out on the back porch to enjoy a tall glass of self-compassion and drink in the reminder that tomorrow is a new day.

Once while leading a retreat at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Wellness in the Berkshire Mountains, a woman from Amsterdam shared with our women’s group that her three-year-old daughter calls herself “little sweetie.” The mom remarked, “I often hear her my daughter roaming around the house saying …it’s ok little sweetie, you’re tired, you need a nap …it’s ok, little sweetie, you’re hungry and need some strawberries. Or to her mom, “little sweetie is sad, she needs a hug.”  This mother’s young daughter simply knows no other way than to treat herself with loving kindness; she hadn’t been taught there was any reason she shouldn’t. (She inspired the rest of us to refer to ourselves as “little sweetie” for the duration of the retreat!)

I wonder what our collective culture might be like if we taught self-compassion as a sought after skill to be developed and honed–as equally valued as hard work and perseverance. Can you imagine hearing teachers and other influential mentors regularly remind their students and peers, “Be gentle with yourself” …? (Read more about the science behind and benefits of cultivating self-compassion from my friend Dr. Kristin Neff.)

How do you begin to cultivate self-compassion? Here are some ideas that help me:

1. Find and post a picture of yourself between ages 3-5 (a tender time) and see how this shifts your perspective and ability to be easy on yourself; you’re still that same little person! (This is little Renee, above, at age four.)
2. Take a 30,000 foot view and find perspective. We’re all juggling so much: divorces, illnesses, parenting woes, career/life changes, work upheaval–give yourself a break. You have a lot going on and are doing the best you can. Sometimes we lose sight of all we’re navigating.
3. Reach out for support: have a heart-to-heart with a dear friend who holds the highest and best for you. A kind conversation can really help us loosen our hold on what’s “right or wrong” and help us see things with softer, gentler eyes.
4. Be inspired to model this for your children or coworkers: if you’re a parent, instilling in your children the value of being kind to themselves can help them develop strong self-esteem, lower stress and heighten resiliency. Let them hear, “I had a challenging day, I’m doing the best I can.” Same goes for your friends at work.

Sometimes when I notice I’m being hard on myself, I will take a long, slow deep breath, place my hands over the center of my chest and invite in self-compassion. When I can remember to soften and open my heart, it helps me see others in a whole new light. Compassion for others starts with compassion for myself.

I’D LOVE TO SUPPORT YOU–THREE UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES: 

Cathedral Park at the Bishop Jones Center where our May 10th 9-4 New Way of Being Mother’s Day self-care retreat will be held. Register now, it always sells out.

• Hire me to plan/facilitate a custom workshop or retreat for your company, team or organization on life balance, resiliency or self-renewal in 2019-2020. I’ve been speaking professionally for 25+ years on work-life balance and managing your energy.  My clients include Fortune 500 companies, national conferences, nonprofits and organizations. Learn more and email me at workshops at reneetrudeau dot com with questions.
• Craving authentic community and want to practice self-compassion with a like-minded tribe? Learn more about our global sisterhood of RTA-Certified Facilitators  and empower/support women in your community! More here on how to become a RTA-Certified Facilitator and join our inner circle ($100 off through 2/28 for training; learn more + includes private coaching with me).
• Just announced! Join me May 1oth from 9-4 in San Antonio, TX at the stunning, peaceful, 19-acre Cathedral Park at the Bishop Jones Center for our New Way of Being: Women’s Self-Renewal Retreat (Mother’s Day Weekend); check out the bring-a-friend special which includes a Kendra Scott jewelry gift.  Learn more.

Subscribe here to Live Inside Out, a weekly blog written by life balance coach/author/speaker Renée Peterson Trudeau. Passionate about helping men and women experience balance through the art/science of self-care, her work has appeared in The New York Times, Good Housekeeping, US News & World Report, Spirituality & Health and more. Thousands of women in ten countries are becoming RTA-Certified Facilitators and leading/joining self-renewal groups based on her award-winning self-care curriculum.  She is the author of three books on life balance and mindfulness including the award-winning The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and 16-year-old son. More on her background here.

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