Here’s a phrase I read a lot lately, but you won’t hear me say it to you:

“Live your BEST LIFE!”

You might expect those words from me because I’m a Southern California “life coach” living near the beach with my husband, two kids, and a labradoodle. I drive a hybrid, meditate to downloads from Deepak & Oprah, and go to Yoga Loft on Sundays.
So I’m a walking cliche.
But I won’t go around encouraging you to “LIVE your BEST life!”
I don’t think it’s USEFUL. To me, it implies that there’s ONE way to live and that we must ALWAYS DO our BEST.
BE our best.
Be THE BEST.
Sounds exhausting.
And competitive.
And out of balance.
If I’m being the BEST girl friend, I’m probably not being the BEST mother. If I’m doing my BEST work, I’m falling short somewhere else.

We’re complex people and we would benefit more from self-compassion rather than self-criticism.

If I tell you that there are X weeks left in this year, does it send you into a panic about what you need to DO or ACCOMPLISH?

I’m all in support of goals and dreams, but when we get so caught up in having our BEST year yet, things start to feel like they’re not measuring up.
Or we’re not measuring up.

So my word for this week is COMPASSION.
Be kind to yourself. Adjust to the change in seasons.

Live your life.
With love.
For yourself as much as others.

What’s ONE small thing you could do to show yourself some compassion? Or put another way,
What’s ONE thing you LOVE to do?