Why Compassion is So Important

We live in such a busy world. Everywhere you go, you hear “be more,” “do more,” or “buy more.” With everyone in the family either going to school or working, “busy” is the new normal. Self-care falls by the wayside, spending time with others is minimal at best, and worst of all, compassion becomes a luxury rather than a necessity.

The Benefits of Compassion

Compassion boosts your health and well-being. There are many benefits to being compassionate both for yourself and, just as important, for others:

For Yourself

• You feel good about yourself.
• You exude more confidence.
• You have a softer, gentler, kinder demeanor.
• You attract more positive people, situations, and experiences in your life.
• Your health improvement brings more energy, better sleep, and life experiences.

For Others

• You are a contribution to others when you show compassion.
• You let them know they aren’t alone.
• Other people reap the rewards of feeling related to, understood, and full of hope.
• Others who are equally kind and compassionate will draw near to you.
• You become a role model for others on how to treat themselves.
• You become a role model for others on how to improve their relationships.
• You create a ripple of compassion that positively affects many people.

Being More Compassionate Changes Your Life

Practicing self-compassion improves various aspects of your life. 

Self-Compassion allows you the opportunity to take care of your own needs in being kind and gentle with yourself when you fall short. As humans, we all make mistakes, forget things, lose our cool, and overreact. Recognizing our humanity enables us to be empathetic, kind, and reflect on life’s lessons.

Being compassionate to ourselves is a better use of energy. Imagine the time and trouble it takes to feed a negative mindset in reaction to a mistake. Instead, why not take time to self-soothe? Many benefits are associated with self-soothing. Rather than getting caught up in our errors, we can speed up our progress. The true essence of life lies in continuous learning, growth, and forward movement.

More importantly, when we show ourselves compassion, we train others to do the same. When we beat ourselves up, we are giving others permission to do the same. By showing ourselves compassion, we teach others how to treat us.

The Impact of Compassion on Your Relationships

While we are all interested in changing and improving our lives for the better, what about the impact compassion has on our relationships? Responsibility for our actions is a key aspect of successfully navigating through life.

Compassion allows us to create change in someone else’s life. People need to know we understand and that we are there for them. Loving and supporting others is the catalyst for helping them through the rough patches of life. What could be more fulfilling than playing a role in altering someone’s life path? Now that is powerful!

When we offer compassion to others, we feel good about ourselves and make a difference to them. It is a win/win situation.

Our lives seem to become busier with each passing day. Let’s show ourselves and others a little compassion along the way!

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Need more self-care tips including info on incorporating more laughter into your day, head on over to A Cup of Positivity on Facebook join the discussion.