Compassion Series - The Benefits of Compassion
Once we see the power of compassion, we can move on to explore the additional benefits. We know taking on self-compassion is a benefit to us as well as those around us. Here are some of the extra benefits of compassion:
Personally
Brain Power – compassion has the potential to help positively rewire the brain; the more someone practices compassion, the more activation for positive emotion
Sleep – when taking on compassion meditations, one might see an improvement in sleep quality because of the positive emotions created throughout those compassion meditations. Better sleep means more energy and a more positive mood throughout the day, rinse and repeat the cycle.
Health and Well-being – showing compassion to yourself offers you the nurturing care you need to survive as a human being; there are times when others are busy or don’t know you are in need of compassion and offering it up to yourself is a great way to increase positive emotions. It also puts you in the driver’s seat where you can take responsibility for your own well-being. An increase in positive emotions can lead to a healthier immune system.
Ability to Face Challenges – taking on self-compassion is fine when things are working well, and life is running smoothly. However, practicing self-compassion is of the utmost importance when things are not. Practicing self-compassion during tough times, helps increase your ability to face reality, helping you move into acceptance, and then moving forward to create the best solution available.
Resiliency – Without self-compassion, the ability to bounce back is not available. People often find themselves getting stuck in the problem rather than looking for a creative way to solve it.
Professionally
Showing compassion to others in your workplace can reap many rewards. When you are dealing with difficult co-workers, it is easy to get caught up in wanting to be right, avoiding them, or even one-upmanship. However, showing kindness and compassion – like the adage says – means you can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.
Rather than meeting negativity with negativity, try showing compassion, taking a pause, asking them if they are alright. Sometimes a little compassion in the workplace goes a long way. This, over time, can change the trajectory of your workplace relationships.
Compassion in the workplace has the potential to reduce workplace stress which leads to illness and time out, can increase productivity, as well as an overall happiness quotient while on the job. There is also the possibility to produce a more of a can-do/willing-to-do attitude from employees when they have employers that show compassion.
Socially
There are all types of personalities in the world; some are somber, some funny, and others have a combination of both. Have you ever noticed a person entering a room and others seem to flock toward them?
What may have been regarded before as charisma may be a deeply compassionate person. Other people pick up on this positive and endearing quality and are drawn to it. People who show compassion to themselves have a better chance at healthier relationships, and people who show compassion to others, have a better chance at making more friends, as well.
Now that we have explored the many ways, we dishonor ourselves due to lack of self-compassion and created awareness around the subject, we can also see the benefits of self-compassion.
If self-compassion is not something you have practiced before or if you were not even aware of how many wonderful benefits self-compassion can provide, let’s take a look at how to incorporate more compassion into daily life.