Week One Complete

You’ve made it through your first week!

How did you go? Did you manage to meditate every day?

Chances are, there have been moments during the week that have caused you to struggle. Perhaps you’ve felt so busy that you couldn’t keep up the practice; perhaps you fell asleep when you tried; perhaps the week completely got away from you and you haven’t even started!

It’s okay. You’re only human. But the good news is, we’re just about to move into week two and it’s a whole new opportunity for you to recommit.

Let me share with you something that world-leading self-compassion researcher Kristin Neff once told me:

There are a lot of reasons people aren’t self-compassionate, but probably the number one reason is that people think they need to be harshly self-critical to motivate themselves. They think that if they’re kind and encouraging, they’ll basically be lazy and passive and not reach their goals.

Research has demonstrated that people who have greater self-compassion, experience less depression and anxiety. So rather than being harsh critics to ourselves, it is in fact better for our growth to be kind, understanding and nurturing.

That’s why we’d love you to take some time at some point today to thank yourself for engaging in this practice, even if you fell short of your own expectations. In some capacity or another, you have shown up here to try to make a difference to your life, and that is a beautiful gift to yourself.

Keep up all the wonderful online sharing. Continue to share any insights, reflections, struggles or questions on Instagram using #thehappinessplan hashtag, or else in the Facebook Group. If you’ve not yet joined the conversation, chime in during week two so we can know who you are.

Don’t forget there’ll be a mass online guided meditation at the end on March 20 at 8:30pm. Put it in your diary to honour your efforts and celebrate #internationalhappinessday! Details to follow.