Whenever we mess up at work, our first instinct is to berate ourselves because of it. After all, that’s how our parents and teachers corrected us, right?
Unsurprisingly, negative self-talk does nothing except make us feel more stressed and worse about ourselves. This can seriously harm your self-confidence, causing you to constantly doubt yourself and feel anxious at work.
So, instead of putting yourself down, why not practice self-compassion? Doing so helps you overcome your self-doubt at work and do better next time.
Besides this, here are some reasons why practicing self-compassion makes you a better worker.
What is Self-Compassion?
Before we begin, let’s discuss what self-compassion actually means.
Self-compassion is treating yourself with kindness and understanding during difficult times and acknowledging that mistakes are part of being human.
This is different from self-indulgence, as the former improves one’s emotional intelligence and resilience; the latter leads to impulsive behavior and avoidance of discomfort and challenges.
It Greatly Improves Your Emotional and Mental Health
One obvious benefit of self-compassion is a marked reduction in everyday stress and anxiety.
This lessens your risk of experiencing burnout and getting sick while boosting your satisfaction and productivity at work.
Additionally, this helps improve your work-life balance, as you have an easier time detaching from work if you’re not obsessed with your performance.
It Builds Emotional Resilience
Being more compassionate to yourself enables you to quickly bounce back from setbacks, as you view these as part of learning.
Treating yourself with kindness and understanding helps you accept your limitations and better manage your emotions. It counteracts unhealthy perfectionism, allowing you to set realistic expectations at work.
This healthier outlook boosts confidence in facing new challenges and helps you look at past mistakes more objectively. It also enables you to accept constructive criticism from colleagues without taking it personally.
It Motivates You to Constantly Improve Yourself
Do you feel like your career has stagnated lately? Practicing self-compassion can help you overcome this and become a better worker.
According to research, self-compassionate people aren’t just satisfied with their current selves and are more oriented towards personal growth.
This leads them to seek new challenges and learn new skills to improve themselves and achieve their goals.
Using more supportive self-talk helps encourage you to take on new tasks and responsibilities at work you previously thought impossible. It also allows you to better embrace change and adapt to new challenges at work.
Not only that, but you’ll be more proactive in seeking upskilling opportunities, such as attending virtual seminars or online courses.
It Makes You a Better Teammate
When you’re kind to yourself, it usually follows that you’re also kind to your co-workers.
Practicing self-compassion makes you more empathetic to the challenges faced by your co-workers, which helps lessen disagreements and conflicts among you.
Furthermore, studies show a strong link between self-compassion and accountability, which leads to improved communication and collaboration.
All these help promote trust and psychological safety at work, which is good for everyone.
The Benefits of Being Your Own No. 1 Fan
Many workers mistakenly believe berating themselves whenever they make a mistake will motivate them to improve at their jobs. “Tough love,” as they call it.
In reality, this only leads to further demotivation.
Instead, as the above points show, practicing self-compassion is the right way to motivate yourself to become a better worker. Showing kindness and understanding to yourself helps you be more confident and improve your relations with your co-workers.
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