We increase our happiness not only when we achieve our goals but also when we practice compassion.
This desire to relieve feelings of suffering is applicable to both ourselves and others.
Practicing compassion will make you happy by strengthening your social connections, reducing stress, and improving your immune system.
What Is Compassion?
Compassion is when we feel motivated to relieve suffering in ourselves or others.
If we are able to empathize with a person’s feelings of sorrow or suffering, then this is a compassionate reaction. This emotion helps to boost our bond with the other person.
It is often easier to be compassionate towards others when they have personal struggles. However, we are not always kind to ourselves. We tend to feel unworthy or frustrated.
Components of Self-Compassion
There are three elements of self-compassion that were identified by psychologist, Dr. Kristin Neff.
One is self-kindness. This is when we realize that we can be imperfect and fall short at times. Thus, we can navigate through the tough times without being too critical.
We need to be kind to ourselves when we are not up to our own standards because of:
- Lack of time
- Things don’t turn out as expected
- We make mistakes
- Lack of skills or resources
- Decline of our ability due to aging
The second element of self-compassion is common humanity. This is where we understand that challenges are part of the shared experiences. When we:
- Get sick
- Have an accident
- Are impacted by natural disasters
- Have an emergency
Lastly, there is the element of mindfulness. We can manage to observe our emotions and not be ignorant or exaggerate them. When we experience negative emotions we can acknowledge them and stay with them. Feelings such as:
- Disappointment
- Anger
- Frustration
- Sadness
How to be Happy Practicing Compassion?
When we or others are suffering we have two options. We can get mad, criticize, and blame or we can choose to be compassionate.
According to research, compassion and self-compassion increase feelings of happiness and optimism while decreasing anxiety and depression.
Focusing on our well being, admitting mistakes, and modifying unproductive behaviors is how practicing self-compassion will make us happy.
Instead of blaming and criticizing ourselves or others for our shortcomings, we can be kind to ourselves, acknowledge our areas of weaknesses, and use our strengths to move forward.
There are so many circumstances that cannot be changed and are part of being a human being. Accepting these aspects of being alive and looking for ways to work around them will increase our feelings of happiness.
Moreover, showing compassion to others who are suffering will increase our social connections.
Include More Compassion Into Your Life
The first step is to be kind to yourself and others.
The second step is to see the big picture. There are certain experiences that are part of being alive and we can’t change them. Some examples are getting sick, making mistakes, or losing a loved one.
The third step is to experience the feelings mindfully.
This, however, requires a bit of practice. Try some meditation for 15 to 20 minutes each day in a quiet place. Clear your mind, be present in the moment and focus on that person who needs your compassion.
Here you can read how to be happy practicing meditation.
Include more compassion in your life to feel happier and healthier.
This is super awesome post and I just loved it!!!
This is an important skill to learn and to teach our young ones. We need more compassion and compassionate people.
Completely agree with you. Being compassion with yourself is a very good practise. Its easy to blame others and move on. We tend to fail in realizing our self. Very good article
I feel like for the most part – I am compassionate. In fact, I really feel like I am always compassionate! I also always offer advice if asked and have been told I am a terrific ear for those who need to vent!
Compassion is so underrated. The world would be a much better place if we all practiced more of it! I love that you highlight this.
Such an important trait for people to have! Great post!
Love this. It is so interesting to see how many people these days lack compassion. Sharing this post on my fb
Thank you for sharing!
What an insightful post! I’ve really never connected self-compassion to the treatment of others, but it definitely correlates. We need to be kind to ourselves if we have any hope of having empathy for others.
Such a nice read.. And I agree, we all need compassion to ourselves and other. Practicing can make the world better.
I really enjoyed every word of your post, love it!!! And yes, we all need to live and practice compassion, the only solution to start the healing process.
Compassion is an interesting concept. After reading this I would love to explore this topic even more.
Thanks for sharing more about the art of compassion! It will be helpful to many who are searching for inspiration.
I think something that people tend to forget in todays world is the “bigger picture”. They just worry about the now and whats in front of them.
This is such a good post we all need to hear!
Such an inspirational post. Compassion is a trait that people look over and I love how you broke it down here. This post will help a lot.
Beautiful article and I really enjoyed reading it. I think our world will be better if we all practice this.
Great post explaining compassion and make me have a in-depth understanding of this topic.
Thanks for sharing. In the world that we live in spreading more love and compassion is definitely something that we need to be doing.
Compassion is a skill that needs to be taught from an early age
I know more about compassion after read this article. This is really helpful, thank you so much..
A great post and wonderful reminder! Thanks for sharing.
Compassion is such an important think to have. I wish more people had it – this world would be a lot better.
Empathy is a hard one to learn because it is difficult to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and try to understand their feelings and experience when something happens. I think this is why most people find it hard to offer compassion.
I used to say negative things to myself and just blame myself for my shortcomings. I have been happy practicing on myself for the last two years and it has been working on the most part.
This is one of the things that I teach my students. I do a bit of mentoring (for free) and I always encourage them to be kind to themselves as well as to others. I tell them that whenever they achieve something (big or small), it’s always good to give back to the community or pay it forward. Such an inspiring post. Thank you for imparting your wisdom.
It’s so important to be kind to ourselves especially when things don’t turn as expected even if we had worked so hard and all that. If we learn to show compassion to ourselves, it will be easier to show compassion to everyone.
If more people were cognizant of just how important compassion was, I can’t imagine what a better place the world will be. All that to say, thanks for writing about this, and keeping it at the forefront of people’s minds!
Understanding self-worth is so important. To practice compassion, we have to understand our own value and the value of others. Mindfulness is a good things as well.