Natalie Goldberg Quotes

Don't be so damn hard on yourself. Yeah, you screwed up. You're not perfect, fine. Learn from it. But don't punish yourself. Be kind to you, even when you screw up. You'll bounce back eventually. You'll make up for it.

Be patient with everyone, but above all with yourself.

Compassion directed to oneself is humility.

I feel a kind of permission and freedom in my work that I might not allow myself in my real life.

You do not get into better shape being hard on yourself.

You know what? I'm not going to beat myself up. I did the best I can do, and so I'm going to believe that - I'm going to believe good things about myself.

Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.

If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.

So be gentle with yourself; show yourself the same kindness and patience you might show a young child - the child you once were. If you won’t be your own friend, who will be? If, when playing an opponent, you are also opposing yourself, you will be outnumbered.

Do be kind to yourself. Fill pages as quickly as possible; double space, or write on every second line. Regard every new page as a small triumph. Until you get to page 50. Then calm down, and start worrying about the quality. Do feel anxiety - it's the job.

You have to be kinder to yourself, because it's a part of being good.

Only if you're kind to yourself, can you be kind to others.

Be kind to yourself. God thinks you're worth his kindness. And he's a good judge of character.

It's very easy to attack ourselves. Even comforting in its familiarity, but you must resist this urge at all costs. Dwelling on the past or your perceived flaws will do nothing but keep you under emotional house arrest and hamper your progress. Commit yourself to growth and reward yourself with kindness for choosing to do so!

Loving the self, to me, begins with never ever criticizing ourselves for anything. Criticism locks us into the very pattern we are trying to change. Understanding and being gentle with ourselves helps us to move out of it. Remember, you have been criticizing yourself for years, and it hasn't worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.

I don't have time to beat myself up over my fallible nature. Instead I use my energy to learn from my past and let it inform my future. It's time to own all of our glory, mistakes, mess and light and be gentle to ourselves. Let's be kind to our spirits and celebrate the truth of our hearts.

People can be more forgiving than you can imagine. But you have to forgive yourself. Let go of what's bitter and move on.

To my younger self, I would say not to be so hard on yourself. I think that you are your biggest critic.

We need to make friends with ourselves. We are stuck with our self all day, so let's be kinder, gentler, more amusing company. Let's take our own hand and say, 'There, there, sister. You're doing a good job. I'm proud of how you're handling all this craziness down here. Don't give up. Carry on, warrior.'

It's exhilerating to be able to explore my own voice.

Learning to love yourself is not going to happen overnight - the first step is trying to be kinder and more patient with yourself, and I understand that it takes time.

Awakening self-compassion is often the greatest challenge people face on the spiritual path.

Kindness to self will put you in the perfect attitude and position to be kind to others.

I am gentle with myself, knowing that I am doing the best I can with the knowledge and understanding I have