#317: Tired of Being So Hard on Yourself? Allow Grace to Transform Your Self-Criticism into Self-Compassion

Today is all about grace, and it's all happening right here, right now, inside of episode 317.

Welcome to the podcast.

Yo, are you ready to flip the script on life? Because those bad days, they're just doors to better days.

And that's exactly what we do here at Grit, Grace, and Inspiration.

Your host, Kevin Lowe. He's been flipping the script on his own life, turning over 20 years of being completely blind into straight-up inspiration, motivation, and encouragement just for you.

So, kick back, relax, and let me introduce you to your host, Kevin Lowe.

Since I figured the best way to explore any idea is through stories, we're going to look at the stories of three individuals who exhibit grace in their life, in their stories.

Susan Lynch, Dr. Robin Hall, and Tessa Arnold are all women who you may recognize from past episodes of this podcast.

I chose these three particular women and their stories because each of them have faced their own unique challenges. challenges and yeah, I feel like they found a way to embody grace in the midst of it all.

And of course, most importantly, is I feel like their stories are going to mean something to you because, well, that's the point of today's episode, is I want you to leave a little bit better than when you came.

Our first story today comes from Susan Lynch, a woman who shared such Such a heartfelt story about the loss of her son.

Susan, her story, it's of heartbreak, but I believe it's also of courage.

Any mother who loses a child, Well, they have two choices, I guess, is it's just like any of us when we experience a loss or pain is we can either just stay stuck or we can eventually decide that we need to move forward, that we can gather up the strength to put the pieces together enough that we can start living again.

One of the ways in which Susan was able to move forward was by honoring her son, by keeping his name alive.

Ironically, his name was Kevin. Yeah, just like mine.

I thought that was a pretty cool coincidence when I heard her story.

I want you to remember that grace, especially in this story of Susan, it's not about erasing the pain, but rather finding the strength to carry on.

Susan had said in that interview that if her son's death could help even just one person, then it has meaning.

I believe her willingness to turn the hardest point in her life into hopefully a message of hope to others is honestly just a testament to the power of grace.

Next up, I want to talk to you about Dr. Robin Hall. She was featured on the podcast actually not too long ago.

And if you heard her story, well, you were in for a treat.

This woman had such an amazing outlook on life.

And especially when we start to talk about the hard stuff, the sad stuff like cancer.

She herself had her life impacted by cancer.

She had family members with cancer. And well, of course, she also cared for her patients.

Where I see grace exhibited in Dr.

Robin Hall's situation is the way in which she has chosen to see these hard times in life.

Where she talks about finding the unexpected blessings, the unexpected blessings in the midst of all of this bad. Because, well, I feel like Dr.

Robin Hall, she found that grace is not just about enduring hardships, but even maybe more so allowing oneself to find joy and even gratitude in the midst of the bad.

Grace is giving yourself a break.

It's letting yourself realize that it's okay to smile, even though things in your life might be bad.

Even though things around you might be stressful, it's okay.

It's okay to smile. It's okay to laugh.

It doesn't mean that you aren't paying attention to the situation.

It doesn't mean that you forgot about what's going on in life.

No, you're just giving yourself some grace, helping yourself to get through it. And sometimes the best way we can get through a hard situation is to find something to laugh at.

Because, well, I've often said that sometimes if you're not laughing, you're crying.

And for myself, I would much rather be laughing.

So when you think of Dr. Robin Hall in today's context, I want you to remember that she teaches us that grace is found in those small moments.

When we allow ourselves to be real, to be vulnerable, and, of course, to find beauty even in the darkest of places.

Now, I couldn't talk about the topic of grace without speaking about a woman named Tessa Arnold, another phenomenal guest who I had on the podcast. Tessa Arnold.

Tessa is a woman who had profound loss and yet has found a way to rebuild her life.

And, well, in terms of today's topic, I would like to say she found a way to rebuild it with grace.

After the sudden loss of her husband, Tessa, she was at a crossroads.

She could stay in the life she knew or she could make a pivot.

She ultimately, she chose to take the path that aligned with her true self.

With who she is, with what she wanted. Her story is all about self-acceptance. It's all about change.

And without a doubt, it's all about having grace to allow yourself to redefine your path, to change things up when you need to.

And of course, having grace allowed her to do it without judgment, allowing you to do so without judgment, not judging yourself, not being so hard on yourself, giving yourself a break.

Life is tough, no matter what you're going through. By giving yourself grace, well, it's like you, being the best friend that you've been needing, somebody to encourage you, somebody to pat you on the shoulder and tell you it's going to be okay, that yes, you are doing good. Just keep going.

That is what it means when you can give yourself grace.

I feel the real important thing that Tessa's story reminds us is that grace allows us to rewrite our own stories.

It allows us to let go of what no longer serves us, and it ultimately allows us to step into the life we were meant to live.

These three women, Susan Lynch, Dr.

Robin Hall, and Tessa Arnold, each one offer their own unique perspective on grace.

And through their stories, we see that grace, it's not just about forgiveness.

It's more so about allowing ourselves to be unperfect, allowing ourselves to stumble humble as we move forward and ultimately to rise again.

Grace, well, it's about finding strength and vulnerability, purpose and pain, and of course, hope in the face of adversity.

Whether you're dealing with loss, with the challenges, or just the stresses of life, I want you to realize that grace can be your anchor.

Grace can be that secret you've been looking for. Give yourself a break.

Show yourself a little bit of grace.

You deserve it. Life is hard. And just the fact that you're here, you're doing it, you got out of bed this morning, you're moving forward. word.

I want you to realize that you're way more amazing than you realize.

I want you to give yourself that grace. I want you to give yourself a break.

And well, if anything, I hope you turn off today's podcast and just go treat yourself like you would your best friend.

If anything said today makes you think of somebody, well, please share today's episode with them.

I would love it if you would send them a link to this episode, tell them about it, tell them about the podcast in general, because, well, that's how we help to keep it growing.

And lastly, if there is ever anything I can do for you, if you ever just want to reach out, have a quick conversation to talk about what you got going on, you know that you can reach out to me.

There is a link inside of the show notes where you can book a free call with me.

There's also a link where you can send me a short voice message if you just want to do that.

Whichever way, I'm just encouraging you to never hesitate to reach out.

I'm here for you, hoping to be of value to you, both here on the podcast and beyond.

Until then, of course, I'm Kevin Lowe, and this was another episode of Grit, Grace, and Inspiration.

Music.