Be Patient With Your Progress
When it comes to our goals, progress will ebb and flow — and that’s OK. Join Shine's Joy Ofodu for a self-compassion meditation to help you extend patience and care to yourself, wherever you are on your journey.
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Joy here. Thanks for showing up. I have a confession, Sometimes, or a lot of the times, I find myself wanting to fast forward. I want to skip to the part where I've finished that creative project, or I've found that person that I'm looking for, or I've achieved that goal at work. I know I'm not alone in this. When we're so excited about where we want to go, it's tough to be patient with ourselves. If we're not making progress, we can get self critical. Like, "Hello, don't you care about this awesome goal you have? Why aren't you finished yet?" But I'm here to remind you we all go through seasons of progress. We can't give 100% to our goals all the time because life happens. Our priorities shift, our energy changes, or we're just not that into it right now, and all of this is okay. You deserve to be patient with yourself and your growth to feel like you have your back through all the starts, stops, and pauses on the way to where you want to go. Today, I want to practice extending compassion and patience to yourself wherever you are on your journey. Let's begin. Find yourself in a comfy position, whether that's sitting or standing. And gently close your eyes if you can, or just softly lower your gaze. And take a deep breath in. And out. On your next few breaths, try to lengthen them, even if it's just adding another second to each inhale and exhale. See how it feels to intentionally slow down. Breathing in. And out. Breathing in. And out. Now, think of something you are working towards. It could be a promotion at work, or a hobby you're doing in your free time, or building a better relationship with yourself or someone else. Beautiful. Now, I want you to name where you are in this journey. The key thing is to do this honestly and without judgment. Maybe it's still just an idea marinating in your head, or you've done a little bit of work, or the finish line is right around the corner. Take this moment to be honest with yourself about your progress so far. All right. Now, I want you to imagine a dear friend in your shoes, with the same goal, same progress made so far, someone you care about deeply and want to support. What words of compassion or care would you say to them? Maybe, "I'm proud of you for having this goal in mind," or, "You are doing the best you can, and that's enough." Take the next few moments to send them some words of compassion. All right, I hope that felt good. It's easy to be hard on ourselves, to expect ourselves to be making progress all the time. But you deserve to extend the same compassion and patience you give others to yourself, because wherever you are on your journey is enough. Let's take a final deep...
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- More about Andy
A former Buddhist monk, Andy has guided people in meditation and mindfulness for 20 years. In his mission to make these practices accessible to all, he co-created the Headspace app in 2010.
- More about Eve
Eve is a mindfulness teacher, overseeing Headspace’s meditation curriculum. She is passionate about sharing meditation to help others feel less stressed and experience more compassion in their lives.
- More about Dora
As a meditation teacher, Dora encourages others to live, breathe, and be with the fullness of their experiences. She loves meditation’s power to create community and bring clarity to people’s minds.
- More about Kessonga
Kessonga has been an acupuncturists, therapist, and meditation teacher, working to bring mindfulness to the diverse populations of the world.
- More about Rosie
Rosie Acosta has studied yoga and mindfulness for more than 20 years and taught for over a decade. Rosie’s mission is to help others overcome adversity and experience radical love.
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