Hi everyone, it's Rosie. Welcome to Radio Headspace and to Tuesday. Today we're continuing

our exploration of self-compassion, and I want to share a very personal experience.

My journey as a first-time author, because really what better way to understand self-compassion

than the roller coaster ride of writing a book? When I set out to write my book, I was

brimming with ideas and enthusiasm, but soon reality hit. The self-doubt, the fear of rejection,

the pressure to create something meaningful, it was all there, staring me dead in the face.

And that's our focal point for today. How do we embrace self-compassion when we're

pushing our boundaries when we most likely won't get it right on the first try?

Something that's helped me during those times is befriending myself. But friending ourselves

is so important because our thoughts mostly go unchecked. We can say anything to ourselves at

any time, good or bad. But when we tell a friend what we're feeling, they speak kindly to us,

and through self-compassion we can learn to do that for ourselves. I sadly wasn't befriending

myself when I wrote that first book. At times, I stared at a blank page, the cursor blinking back

at me, mirroring my insecurities. I questioned my abilities and my worthiness, which brings me to the

day I received the first draft of my manuscript. I opened the email expecting constructive feedback

and suggestions, but what I saw shattered my confidence in an instant. The document was marked

up with red underlines. As I scrolled through the pages seeing the corrections and critiques

from three different people, I felt a wave of discouragement wash over me. I questioned whether

I had what it takes to be a writer, whether my words are worthy of being shared with the world,

the inner critic grew louder and louder, fueling myself out and making me question every sentence

I had written. So I did what I normally do when I get overwhelmed. I went outside.

I listened to the birds, took some deep breaths and walked it out.

...