How to Care for Others by Practicing Self-Gratitude

“Self-compassion is simply giving the same kindness to ourselves that we would give to others.” – Christopher Germer

We all try to take care of our loved ones to some extent. Unfortunately, however, we tend to forget one important thing along the way: ourselves.

When you lose yourself in the process of taking care of other people, you experience a lot of negativity. Your sincerity to help decreases and your actions become forced. The more you continue to care for other people without practicing self-care , the less satisfaction you’ll feel when helping them.

So, how do you avoid all these things?

Simple. Start with practicing self-gratitude.

Research suggest that individuals that practice gratitude have fewer negative health issues. They sleep more soundly at night and feel more refreshed in the morning. People who show gratitude feel more satisfied with their life to the point that they’re able to maintain a positive outlook even for the future.

How To Start Practicing Self-Gratitude

Practicing self-care through gratitude can be challenging, particularly if it is not something you do every day.

If you’re unsure about where to start, you can try using a gratitude journal.Before you go to sleep, try to write down at least three things that have happened for that day which you are grateful for. The list can be as simple as the meal you ate for breakfast or a good deed a friend did for you unexpectedly.

As you continue to write about positive things, you’ll slowly begin to feel happier about your life. You’ll find it easier to see the good in everything to the extent that you begin to affect other people.

Doing something as simple as offering a sincere ‘thank you’ to someone, for example, can increase that person’s warm feelings toward you. And once that happens, you’ll be able to sustain a long term relationship.

See Also: How to Adopt an Attitude of Gratitude

How To Control Your Emotions

According to social and psychological counselors, learning how to understand and manage our own emotions is another powerful tool we can use in helping others. Because of this, many counselors focus on teaching self-regulation skills to their clients.

Individuals who are in better control of their own emotions are frequently good at seeing the good in other people. They can also identify opportunities for themselves and others easily. They don’t find difficulty maintaining a healthy outlook during times of extreme stress, too.

If you want to control your emotions, you must first know why they exist in the first place. Understanding why there were triggered can give you a clearer idea on how you should address them.

Although this sounds like an easy task, it can be incredibly challenging to get to the root of your emotion. You need to have a higher level of self-honesty, so you can be comfortable in admitting the reasons to yourself.

Self-Gratitude and Taking Care Of Others

See Also: A Little Bit of Gratitude, Everyday! 

Emotionally intelligent individuals are often more empathetic towards the situations of other people. Because they can understand things better,  they’re able to help others go through their certain issues more efficiently.

Addressing your needs while taking care of other people isn’t bad. You just have to find the right balance to make sure you build a positive energy that you can use to influence other people to do the same.