Day 30: Ten Ways I am Being Kind to Myself

This year, the theme of my personal growth seems to be about being kind to myself. It’s not always easy, but I do feel that I am making progress in this area. I am getting really good at saying to myself, “I AM WHERE I AM” and accepting the moment as it is.

So I would like to share Ten Ways I am Being Kind to Myself These Days:

1. Taking the pressure off myself about my new album release. I released a new piano album this year called “Jaguar Love Letter”, and I’m letting it be ok that I’ve been taking baby steps rather than forcing myself to take on a big launch I might not be ready for right now.
2. Letting myself stop a marketing program that wasn’t working. Last Fall I joined a music marketing program that I hoped would help me sell my album, but after torturing myself for many months about it, I finally left it. Note: I did get benefit from the program and have nothing against it. But sometimes you gotta step away.
3. Letting myself enjoy the creative hodge podge that is this blog! I’m just leaning into the weird, as it were, and since I’m at Day 30 still enjoying myself, I’d say it’s going well!
4. Accepting my monkey mind chatter, but not adding to it. I am getting much better at not adding to the monkey mind chatter. Telling myself “I am where I am,” for instance, is really helping me accept the moment and not add to the drama. So is meditating. Even a couple moments of just stopping and getting present make a difference.
5. Accentuating the positive! I do all I can to focus on the things that are working well in life. At the moment, I have a viral Youtube video that is quickly approaching 3 million views. Meanwhile, I am composing every day and loving it! I even got a nice comment from a blog reader yesterday. Woo-hoo!
6. Leaning into my strengths. I have never been better at this. This blog is all about focusing on my strengths.
7. Giving myself the gift of an enjoyable marathon training experience. See Saturday’s blog post.
8. Continuing familiar well-being activities. From reading to napping, from writing at the cafe to running, from meditating and priming my brain for positivity, I’m pretty good at taking care of myself 🙂
9. Being open to clarity. I’m truly committed to personal happiness. Doing a lot of introspection helps. For instance, last week I wrote about how resistance does not mean unworthiness. This was a recent insight I had while journaling.
10. Appreciating the many blessings of my life! This blog, my marriage, my teaching business, my interest in personal finance/investing, my running, my family… all are blessings and I am very appreciative!