The Gentle Revolution

DAY 7: Living with Self-Compassion

We've reached Day 7. You made it! 🎉

Over the past week, you've practiced:

🧡 The Self-Compassion Break

🧡 Soothing touch

🧡 Understanding your inner critic

🧡 Connecting to common humanity

🧡 Reframing harsh self-talk

🧡 Being with difficult emotions

That's a lot of new neural pathways you've been building. Today isn't really about learning something new. It's about integration - bringing it all together and creating your way forward.

✍️ TODAY'S PRACTICE: YOUR SELF-COMPASSION COMMITMENT (20 minutes)

Grab a journal or piece of paper. Let's reflect.

PART 1: WHAT SHIFTED?

  • What surprised you this week?

  • Which practice resonated most?

  • What felt hardest? Why? - How did your relationship with yourself change (even slightly)?

  • What did you learn about your inner critic?

PART 2: IDENTIFYING YOUR TRIGGERS

When do you most need self-compassion? Check all that apply (or add your own):

◻️ When I make mistakes

◻️ When I'm comparing myself to others

◻️ When I'm stressed or overwhelmed

◻️ When I receive criticism

◻️ When I don't meet my own expectations

◻️ When I'm tired or depleted

◻️ When I'm feeling anxious or sad

◻️ When I'm procrastinating

◻️ When things feel out of control

◻️ Other: _______________

PART 3: YOUR OWN TOOLKIT

For each trigger you checked, choose ONE practice you'll use:

Examples:

  • When I make mistakes → Self-Compassion Break

  • When I'm stressed → Soothing touch + 3 breaths

  • When comparing → Common humanity reminder

  • When inner critic is loud → The Best Friend Test

PART 4: YOUR COMMITMENT

Complete these sentences:

  • "I commit to practicing self-compassion by..." (Be specific: When? How often? Which practice?)

  • "When I forget (because I will), I'll remember by..." (What's your reminder? Post-it note? Phone alarm? Bracelet?)

  • "If I slip back into harsh self-talk, instead of criticizing myself for that, I'll..." (Meta self-compassion: being kind to yourself for not being perfect at self-compassion!)

PART 5: FINAL PRACTICE - LOVING-KINDNESS FOR YOURSELF (10 minutes)

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WHAT COMES NEXT?

Seven days is just the beginning. Self-compassion isn't something you achieve - it's something you practice.

Some days will be easier than others. You'll forget. You'll slip back into old patterns. And when you do - that's when you need self-compassion most. The practice isn't perfection. The practice is noticing when you've been harsh, and choosing kindness anyway. Again and again and again.

KEEPING THE MOMENTUM:

Here are some ways to continue:

  • Revisit these practices I’ve shared with you this week - you will have access to the content for 1 month, until 7 January 2026 so you can go back to them over the holidays and even after the New Year when you need a bit of self-compassionate support and reminders.

  • Explore which practice resonated with you the most and try it out over the next weeks when you have difficult or self-critical thoughts coming up.

  • Set a daily reminder to check in with yourself - return to one practice every morning for 5 minutes. Start with something simple, like the Self-Compassion Break (awareness, common humanity reminder + self-kindness) or giving yourself some soothing touch by placing a hand over your heart and taking 3 deep breaths.

  • Working with me: for the Finnish speakers, my next full 8-week Mindful Self-Compassion Course with the Turku Summer University (online) starts 19 January 2026. You can find more details about it here and sign up.

  • I am hosting a free webinar (in Finnish) on Mindful Self-Compassion next week, 11 December - you can sign up here.

  • 25th January, together with Dr Skye McKennon, I am offering a Mindful Self-Compassion workshop (in English) focused on how to motivate ourselves through self-compassion rather than self-criticism. You can find out the details and sign up here.

Remember: Being kind to yourself isn't selfish. It's how you sustain everything else you care about.

Thank you for showing up for yourself this week. That took courage, and I'm proud of you.

With so much warmth,

Sini 💜

P.S. I'd love to hear about your experience. I would really appreciate it if you could take a minute to fill in this short feedback survey (you can fill it in anonymously). Or, just reply to one of my emails and tell me: What was your biggest takeaway from this week?

Thank you!