Exams are over. Some students may feel elated and some deflated, but the exams are nearly over for another semester. Whatever mood you are in, now is the time for a good dose of self compassion and kindness. Little can be achieved by an over critical examination of how you did. Some of us can be very negative of what we have achieved instead of gently accepting both our achievements and shortcomings.
In her website on Self-Compassion Kristin Neff, a professor of
psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, advices that 'Instead
of mercilessly judging and criticizing yourself for various inadequacies or
shortcomings, self-compassion means you are kind and understanding when
confronted with personal failings – after all, who ever said you were supposed
to be perfect?' The simple truth is that cannot always get what we want; that
life has its difficulties. If we chose to fight this reality then we can only
increase our stress and frustration which will impact on our ability to bounce
back.
Of course some of us can get
a little confused about how to be kind to ourselves. Spending a heap of money on alcohol
is not being kind to yourself. It not only
burns a hole in your pocket but leaves you vunerable to depression and has a
huge impact on your weight
So how to be kind to
yourself? Well, it can be as simple as simply pressing your hand against your heart. For more ideas have a look at Kristin Neff's website:self-compassion
For more thoughts on the
aftermath of exams you might also want to check out Cindy Dring’s Exams – the Aftermath Its full of things to think about before the next semester.
But above all remember the
exams are almost over and summer is here. Go celebrate. After all Galway is the best
city in the world in which to be happy...
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