What does grace mean? Per Oxford Language, grace is defined as:
1. simple elegance or refinement of movement.
2. courteous goodwill
We will focus on the second definition, courteous goodwill. What does courteous goodwill look like in your life? How do you show grace to your friends, family, and coworkers?
For me, grace is the process of understanding, forgiving, and showing kindness to someone else. Can you think of a time(s) you have shown grace? I know I can. Here are a couple of examples:
1. A customer in the grocery store whose items are being scanned, remembers they didn’t get milk, as the next customer in line, I say “hey it’s no big deal, go get what you need.” 2. A coworker had to leave work early so, I stayed late to help see patients. In both of these examples I wasn’t bothered, upset, or offended in the slightest…..it’s interesting how easy it is to be understanding for others but not so easy for one’e self.
Are you hard on yourself when you make a mistake or when others are impacted in a not so positive way by your actions or thoughts? I know I am—I am recovering from over analyzing and holding guilt. Crazy, I know, me the person that tries to help others, also deals with feelings of guilt and shame. So here is the tea: I have a hard time forgiving myself or stopping my analytical brain from breaking down what happened, why it happened, and what I could have done to prevent “it” (insert note to self…Steph you’re human, you’re not perfect—no one is).
Here is an example from last week where I felt guilty. My alarm didn’t go off this past Wednesday morning, so I missed teaching my 5:30am yoga class. I called and emailed my students immediately upon waking up at 5:50am. They were all understanding and didn’t harbor any ill will towards me or my business. I unfortunately sat with the feelings of guilt for several hours while my students had moved past it. I had to repeatedly tell myself, “Steph it’s okay. They understand. The class is over. No one is upset, no one is cancelling their membership based off 1 moment in time. Just set extra alarms for your next class.” I finally let it go as there was nothing I could do to change the past, all I can do is be better in the future.
Now I want you to think of a time when you had difficulty showing yourself courteous goodwill (grace). What happened? How did you feel in the moment? What were other people’s response/reaction? How did you feel after? How long did it take you to release the feelings of guilt or awkwardness?
You have had the opportunity evaluate the situation and the time it took you to release the negative feelings. I want to gift you a few tips to help show yourself grace in the future:
1. Speak kindly to yourself
2. Let it go
3. Celebrate your wins
4. Stop comparing yourself to others
5. Be grateful
6. Take your own advice
7. Forgive yourself
8. Assess, reassess, and adjust your expectations
9. Love yourself
10. Learn from your mistakes
As you start the week and progress through the remainder of 2021, return to this list. Choose either of these tips to help you embrace the idea that you are worthy and deserving of grace.
Let today be Day 1 of you showing yourself grace.
Peace and Blessings,
Stephanie
