On Wednesday I shared a video by Kristen Neff about the benefits of writing a compassionate letter to yourself for seven days (or more!) in a row and invited you to join me in this practice for the first week of March. You can find the original video on Instagram on the @neffselfcompassion account! 

So if you're in, here are a few things I'm doing to follow through on my end:

1. Putting "write letter" in my calendar at specific times when I know I will be able to have 5-10 minutes of uninterrupted time. 

2. Choosing a specific place to write my letters and having what I need (notebook & pen) ready to go.

3. Not overthinking it or putting expectations on it. Maybe the letter will be 3 sentences long, maybe it'll be 3 pages! 

Not sure what to write? Pick a prompt! 

1. Think about a current challenge you're facing. Imagine it was your best friend facing the challenge. What would you want them to know right now? How you would like to encourage them? 

2. Think about a past event that comes back to bother you now and then. Write yourself a compassionate letter about that event. Maybe it's addressed to that younger version of you. 

3. If you're writing your letter in the evening, take a moment to think about the tone of your mental chatter through the day. How did you treat yourself through the day? Was there a moment you were impatient or unkind to yourself? Write about that moment from a compassionate stance. 

4. If you're writing your letter in the morning think about your day ahead and how you would like to move through the day. Write an encouraging letter to yourself about what's coming up. 

5. If you're finding yourself in a tough season emotionally, struggling with depression, anxiety, stress, etc, you could ask yourself what the depression needs to hear. Write to the depression or the anxiety or the stress with the kindness of a loving mentor and see what comes up.