Did you know that people who are more self-compassionate tend to be less anxious and depressed? I mean let’s face it, in a job that takes so much out of us I am open to all the strategies I can get, how about you?

Did you know that research has shown that our brains have a negativity bias?

Don’t believe me?  Let me ask you this, the last time you received feedback did you focus on the positive feedback or jump straight to “areas for growth?”  How about your test scores?  Did you take time to celebrate the growth and higher numbers or did you go straight to your lowest area and start thinking about what you need to do better to improve as a school? You might be asking yourself, "How does she know this about me?" Because I do the same thing!  I can receive a glowing evaluation with 15 commendations and what do I do?  Focus on the 1 area for growth. Sound familiar? Now that’s not to say we shouldn’t do this, but we MUST start allowing ourselves to spend some time focusing on the positives.

Because many of us are triggered by exceptionalism or have an achievement addiction, we also sometimes struggle with a contingent self-esteem. What is a contingent self-esteem you ask? 

Check out this episode as I continue our discussion about self-compassion, focusing on the impact self-esteem has on our inner self-critic and our ability to show self-compassion. This is a critical topic for everyone, but especially important for leaders.