• 11/24/2021

How to Have More Patience With Yourself

pexels-photo-1535244

Revivalist is a reader-supported endeavor and our posts may contain affiliate links. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Patience is a virtue, and almost everybody knows that — so why is it so difficult to extend patience to ourselves sometimes? It’s true what people say, everybody tends to be their own worst critic, but is criticism really good for anybody? Usually, the answer is no, especially if you tend to be particularly hard on yourself. But finding the capacity to treat yourself with more patience can be difficult. However, there are a few ways that you can open yourself up to a bit more kindness from within. Here are just a few ways that you can practice a bit more patience with yourself.

Talk to Yourself Like You Would a Friend

This is a common strategy both for those just starting out and those who need a little bit more encouragement. Essentially, the idea is that you should speak to yourself the way that you would speak to any of your friends if they were in your same situation. You probably believe in treating your friends with respect and kindness, and speaking to people carefully. When you speak to others in your life that way, shouldn’t it follow that you should treat yourself with kindness and respect, too? You are someone’s friend, too, and you deserve the same treatment. 

Practice Gratitude

Although a gratitude practice might seem a bit unrelated at first, there are so many ways that practicing gratitude for your life and yourself can help you bring out the kindness you need. There are lots of things you can express gratitude for — but one of the best ways to be kinder to yourself is to consider all of the things that you can be grateful for about yourself and about the life you have. There are so many ways that you can practice gratitude, from starting a journaling practice to vocalizing your gratitude affirmations every single day. No matter what you choose, you can explore the positive feelings of practicing gratitude.

Catch Negative Self-Talk In the Act

Negative self talk can be one of the primary culprits of making you hard on yourself. Negative self talk is that little voice in your head that criticizes you for everything you do and it won’t seem to let you catch a break. Everybody can be guilty of this, but it’s important that if you speak to yourself of kindness, you do so all the time, even in your head. Begin to recognize what it sounds like when you criticize yourself and engage in negative self talk. Once you start to pick up on the signals, you can attune yourself to an awareness of it so that you can shut it down before it even gets started.

Give Yourself Rest

Sometimes, being too hard on yourself can also be in the practical sense, not just mentally and verbally. Do you find yourself working so hard that you experience burnout or feeling like you can never get enough done in the day? If you notice patterns like these, you probably need a little bit more rest and relaxation in your life. Try to get enough sleep each night, give yourself the downtime you deserve when you can and take a few moments throughout the day to rest and relax. Not only is this the more sustainable option for a productive lifestyle, but it’s also extremely important for both your mental and physical health.

Build It Into Your Routine

Whether it’s positive self-talk, gratitude, affirmation or simply taking the rest that you need, one of the best ways to make sure that you build patience into your life is to insert it into your daily routine. Although patience might come naturally when it comes to showing kindness to others, you might need to put in a little bit of extra effort in order to really see it shine through for yourself. Try your best to pay a little bit of extra attention to your own needs. Not only is this a part of self-care, but it also gets easier the more you do it.

Having More Patience for Yourself

You deserve to have the patience for yourself that you hold for those around you. Even if it’s hard at first, practicing gratitude, speaking kindly to yourself and giving yourself the rest you need can all help you get there. Being kind to yourself is a process. There will probably be many stops along your journey, and giving yourself the space to learn and grow as a part of finding that patience within yourself. Do you have any techniques that help you practice self-care and self-love?

Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter

We would love to connect deeper with you!

Something went wrong. Please check your entries and try again.