Introducing stress
There’s a whole stack of research that shows the most important component of mental self-care is self-compassion. You might have thought that it was simply all about being determined, tough and positive and that self-compassion sounds like something that is soft and self-indulgent. But think again.
Anything that raises self-esteem is usually thought to be good. But self-esteem has some serious drawbacks.
Too often, efforts to boost self-esteem lead to a one-up position: a comparison with people where you are encouraged to think of yourself as better than others; better than the average person. Of course, we can’t all be better than average! Secondly, too many self-esteem programmes seem to exist in a world of limitless positive thinking, where accepting vulnerability and personal flaws have no place. They implore us to adopt an ‘anything’s possible’ mindset and tell us that we are all wonderful, gifted and special. Small wonder then that the fastest growing personality disorder in the West is narcissism!
Read the first chapter of “Mind Body Balance in Business” here
