Can Journaling Improve Self-Compassion?

50 Journal Prompts For Those Cultivating Self-Compassion

Can learning to be your own best friend change your life? On today's episode, we promise you'll discover the transformative power of self-compassion, guided by the insightful book "50 Journal Prompts for Those Cultivating Self-Compassion" by Lestallion. We unpack the unique approach Lestallion takes to foster kindness towards oneself, breaking down common misconceptions and sharing personal stories that illustrate how these journal prompts can illuminate and shift ingrained negative thought patterns. 

Join us as we discuss creative prompts that challenge you to rethink your self-compassion habits in engaging and unexpected ways. From recognizing how we respond to our mistakes to incorporating uplifting music into our self-care routines, this episode provides practical steps for nurturing a compassionate relationship with yourself. Packed with valuable insights and heartfelt reflections, this conversation encourages you to stop being your harshest critic and start being your own best friend.

LeStallion offers premium PU leather journal notebooks for writing, dedicated to all those who are pursuing their dreams and goals, or nurturing their personal development and mental health.

For More Info on LeStallion, check out:
https://lestallion.com/

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the deep dive.
Today we're diving intosomething I think we all could
use a little more ofself-compassion.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
Yeah, it's one of those things.
You hear about it all the time,but actually putting it into
practice that could be a littlebit tricky.

Speaker 1 (00:13):
It really can be, and that's why I was so drawn to
this book 50 Journal Prompts forthose Cultivating
Self-Compassion by Lestallion.
I love that it's not justanother self-help book telling
you to think positive.
It's like a guidebook foractually cultivating
self-compassion.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
I love that you pick up on that word cultivating,
because it really is a process.

Speaker 1 (00:33):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
Right, it's not something that just happens
overnight.
It's something you have to workat.

Speaker 1 (00:37):
Yeah, you have to tend to it like a garden, almost
.
And I think that's what's socool about these journal prompts
they're not just randomquestions, they're very
intentionally designed to guideyou on this journey, exactly.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
And one of the things that Lestallion emphasizes
early on is the importance ofreally understanding what
self-compassion is and, just asimportantly, what it isn't.

Speaker 1 (00:58):
Okay, yeah, because I think there are a lot of
misconceptions aboutself-compassion, like some
people might think it's justletting yourself off the hook
for bad behavior or something.

Speaker 2 (01:05):
Right.
It's not about making excusesfor yourself or wallowing in
self-pity.
It's about treating yourselfwith the same kindness and
understanding that you wouldoffer to a close friend who's
going through a tough time.

Speaker 1 (01:17):
You know, when I was reading through the
self-compassion foundationsection, I caught myself doing
this too.
There's this one prompt thatasks how do you usually respond
to your mistakes?
And at first I was like I'mpretty forgiving of myself, but
then I remembered how I totallybeat myself up last week over
that mistake I made at work it'sfunny how those prompts can
really reveal those momentswhere we're way harder on
ourselves than we would ever beon anyone else it's like they

(01:39):
shine a light on those negativethought patterns we don't even
realize we have and that's ahuge part of self compassion
Just becoming aware of thosepatterns and how they impact us.
Yeah, and then we can start toshift them.
There's another prompt that Ithought was really interesting.
It asks what's one thing youwould tell a friend who's upset
with themselves that you cantell yourself?

Speaker 2 (01:59):
I love that one because it highlights the
difference between how we treatourselves and how we treat
others, that we would neverdream of being so harsh to a
friend who's feeling down onthemselves, but we do it to
ourselves all the time withouteven thinking about it.

Speaker 1 (02:13):
It's so true, and I think that's a huge first step
in cultivating self-compassion,just recognizing that
discrepancy and starting tochallenge those negative
self-talk patterns.

Speaker 2 (02:24):
Absolutely.
It's about learning to be ourown best friend instead of our
own worst critic.

Speaker 1 (02:30):
So it sounds like self-compassion.
It's not just something wethink about every once in a
while, right Like it actuallytakes effort and practice to
make it a part of our lives.

Speaker 2 (02:38):
It really does.

Speaker 1 (02:39):
It's like any other skill we want to develop we have
to put in the time and effortand that's where this next
section comes in buildingself-compassion habits.
I was really intrigued by someof these prompts.

Speaker 2 (02:48):
Me too.
Lestallion really gets creativewith these, and I think that's
important because it helps us tothink about self-compassion in
new and different ways.

Speaker 1 (02:57):
Okay, so give me an example.
What's one of the prompts thatreally stood out to you?

Speaker 2 (03:00):
Well, there's one that asks what song lifts you up
and why can it be a part ofyour self-compassion practice?

Speaker 1 (03:07):
Music.
I'll be honest, when I firstread that one I was kind of
confused, like what does musichave to do with self-compassion?

Speaker 2 (03:14):
Right.
It seems like a strangeconnection at first, but when
you think about it, music hasthis amazing power to evoke
emotions right.
So if you're feeling down onyourself and you put on a song
that always makes you feel happyand empowered, that's an
instant mood booster and it's away of showing yourself
compassion through music.

Speaker 1 (03:32):
It's like having a soundtrack for self-care that
makes so much sense, and it's somuch more fun than just trying
to force myself to thinkpositive thoughts.

Speaker 2 (03:39):
Exactly.
It's about tapping into thoseemotional resources that already
exist within us.

Speaker 1 (03:44):
I love that.
Okay, so what's another habitbuilding prompt that stood out
to you?

Speaker 2 (03:47):
Okay, this one is so simple, but so powerful.
What small victory can youcelebrate today?

Speaker 1 (03:54):
I love that one because it's so easy to get
caught up in the big picture andforget to acknowledge all the
little wins along the way.

Speaker 2 (04:01):
Exactly, and our brains thrive on those little
wins.
Every time we celebrate a smallvictory, no matter how small it
might seem, it releasesdopamine, which makes us feel
good and motivates us to keepgoing.

Speaker 1 (04:12):
So it's like we're training our brains to focus on
the positive, which is huge whenit comes to self-compassion,
exactly.

Speaker 2 (04:19):
It's about shifting our mindset from one of
self-criticism to one ofself-encouragement, and those
small victories can really addup over time, okay, so we're
building these habits, we'recelebrating the small victories,
like we're creating this wholeself-compassion toolkit.

Speaker 1 (04:33):
But what about when things get really tough, like
when we're dealing with thosereally big, overwhelming
emotions?

Speaker 2 (04:40):
That's such a good point, because that's often when
self-compassion is hardestright when we feel like we need
it the most.

Speaker 1 (04:46):
Yeah, exactly Like when I'm feeling super anxious
or angry, the last thing I wantto do is be kind to myself.
It feels almost impossible.

Speaker 2 (04:55):
It's counterintuitive , isn't it?
Our instinct is often to beatourselves up even more when
we're struggling, but that'swhere Lestallion challenges us
to think differently.

Speaker 1 (05:06):
Okay, so how do we do that, like, what are some
concrete things we can do to bemore compassionate with
ourselves in those really toughmoments?

Speaker 2 (05:10):
Well, there's a prompt in this section that asks
what's an emotional wound youcan start to heal with
self-compassion, and I thinkthat's a really powerful place
to start.

Speaker 1 (05:18):
Hmm, that's interesting because it suggests
that sometimes those intenseemotions we're feeling might be
connected to Exactly.

Speaker 2 (05:26):
It's like we're carrying around these old wounds
that haven't fully healed, andwhen we're stressed or triggered
, those wounds can resurface.

Speaker 1 (05:34):
And then we end up judging ourselves for feeling
those things instead ofrecognizing them as a part of
our story.

Speaker 2 (05:40):
Exactly so.
Self-compassion in thosemoments is about acknowledging
those wounds with kindness andunderstanding instead of
judgment.

Speaker 1 (05:47):
OK, I'm starting to see how this connects to
relationships too.
Instead of judgment.
Okay, I'm starting to see howthis connects to relationships
too.
Yeah, because if we'reconstantly beating ourselves up,
it's going to be hard to showup for others in a healthy way.

Speaker 2 (05:56):
It's almost impossible, right, right, and
that's what Lestallion exploresin the next section, connecting
with others throughself-compassion.

Speaker 1 (06:02):
Which makes sense, because we're coming from a
place of self-criticism andnegativity.
That's probably what we'regoing to project onto others too
.

Speaker 2 (06:09):
Exactly.
But when we learn to be morecompassionate with ourselves, it
creates this ripple effect.
It allows us to be more patient, more forgiving, more
understanding in ourrelationships with others.

Speaker 1 (06:21):
It's like self-compassion is the
foundation for all of ourrelationships.

Speaker 2 (06:24):
I love that analogy because it's so true we can't
give to others what we don'thave for ourselves.

Speaker 1 (06:30):
This has been such an amazing deep dive.
I feel like I have a whole newunderstanding of self-compassion
and how important it is, notjust for our own well-being but
for the well-being of ourrelationships too.

Speaker 2 (06:40):
Me too.
It's such a powerful practiceand it's something we can all
benefit from.

Speaker 1 (06:45):
And I love how Lestallion emphasizes that it's
a journey, not a destination.
It's not about being perfectlyself-compassionate all the time.
It's about showing up forourselves with kindness and
curiosity, even when it's hard.

Speaker 2 (06:57):
Absolutely, and those small acts of self-compassion
can make a world of differenceover time.

Speaker 1 (07:02):
They really can.
So for anyone listening who'sready to start cultivating more
self-compassion in their ownlives, we highly recommend
checking out Lestallion's 50Journal Prompts for those
cultivating self-compassion.
It's a fantastic resource and agreat place to start exploring
this really important topic.

Speaker 2 (07:18):
And for those who want to take their journaling to
the next level, Lestallion alsooffers these beautiful
leather-bound journals.
You can find them on theirwebsite at.

Speaker 1 (07:26):
Perfect.
We'll be sure to link to thatin the show notes and, as always
, thank you so much for joiningus for another deep dive.
We'll see you next.