3. Compassion is the best medicine for guilt
Last week, I yelled at the kids for fighting when we were about to leave for school (anyone relate?!). Afterwards, I watched the guilt creep in. Taking a deep breath, I apologised to them for the way I spoke and observed my anxious impulse to ‘make it all better’.
In that miniscule pause, I understood that the stress and disorganisation of our morning had contributed to heightened emotions in all of us.
With this realisation, I was able to choose genuine compassion for myself and the kids, which transformed my tone of voice, leading the kids to visibly relax and let go of the argument. Magically, we drove to school happily chatting about the day ahead.
Applying compassion to guilt is a conscious choice. It’s a choice you make because you know it works, allowing you to not only shower yourself with kindness but to feel true empathy towards you children. Compassion, like awareness, changes the energy in the room, allowing you to pause, think clearly and make better decisions going forward.
4. Planning for success
Every negative experience contains the seed of something positive – including guilt-inducing situations with your kids!
After the experience is over, evaluate how you can plan to avoid or optimise it in the future.
In the case of my kids fighting before school, I observed that we had all been unorganised and rushed and could figure out ways to plan ahead to avoid that sense of disorganisation the next day.
Once you’ve put your plans into place or acted on an insight, affirm that you’ve done your best and that your kids need you to be happy and well – not perfect.
Geordie Bull is a journalist and yoga teacher who writes about motherhood, conscious parenting and manifestation. Geordie has been an avid reader of self-development books since she was eight years old and loves to experiment with manifestation, NLP and yoga in order to optimise every single aspect of her life – particularly motherhood.
Geordie lives on a bush property near Crescent Head with her husband, two kids, two dogs and lots of chooks. She loves surfing, painting, picnics and adventuring with her family. Find out more on her website and follow her on Instagram.
