Word of the Year 2022: Compassion

Welcome to the new year!

While we may not be making resolutions, we have decided on something to help us navigate the ups and downs of 2022. Kinetric Wellness has chosen a word for the year that we’re going to be particularly mindful about.

We thought long and hard about it, and we finally found a word that fit.

Our word of the year is: Compassion.

It's a word we all know, but what does it mean?

Compassion is Not Passive

By definition, compassion is, "sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it".

Really then, there are 3 phases of compassion: empathy, willingness, and action.

Empathy - We feel and understand what a person may be going through.

Willingness - We have a desire to help in some way.

Action - We act on that desire if possible.

Compassion for Others

How can we start incorporating compassion into our daily lives?

It doesn’t have to be elaborate! If we’re paying attention and looking for opportunities, being compassionate can be second nature to us.

Sometimes that may be doing something practical, like bringing someone groceries.

It might be becoming a listening ear for someone's stress.

At other times, it might mean holding our tongue or suppressing the urge to retaliate when someone wrongs us in some way.

Think of the last time someone cut you off.

What was your instinct? Was it to get worked up? Throw out a few choice words and colorful hand gestures? Where does that leave us? Better off? Did we “teach them a lesson”?

Probably not. We also don’t know what that person may be going through to act that way. Maybe there was more going on than we think. Taking a step back to put ourselves in that person’s shoes is a big part in having compassion for them if at all possible.

Compassion for Self

Many times, when we react hastily or lash out at someone, the cause is actually a lack of compassion for ourselves. This may sound familiar to you.

We often don’t give ourselves the understanding that we give others. We get angry at ourselves for holding on to bad habits, making the “wrong” decision, our falling short of our own expectations.

How often do we engage in negative self talk? How often do we deny ourselves joy because of the things we do or what we are?

By extension, when we see some of those traits in others, we are, at times, very ready to condemn those things, because we’ve had so much practice on ourselves.

That being said, we can come to the conclusion that the way we treat ourselves is intrinsically connected to the way we treat others!

How then can we have more compassion for ourselves?

Taking a Step Back

When developing compassion for ourselves and by extension for others. It may be helpful to take a step back and take a moment to allow ourselves to process what’s happening.

Looking at our situation from the outside may help us regulate our reaction. For example, you would NEVER say some of the things you say to yourself to a friend who’s in distress, right?

Self-Compassion isn't a pity party or an excuse to be lazy either. Remember, compassion is about understanding, and then a desire to help. Taking time to give ourselves perspective can allow ourselves to come up with solutions and really understand our needs.

Like compassion for others, maybe those needs are physical like more sleep or maybe they’re listening to what is ACTUALLY bothering you, maybe it’s something you’ve been ignoring or something you’ve held on to for years. Taking time to unpack and accept those feelings is an act of compassion.

When we find ways to address these issues, without berating ourselves (for y'know being human) we may find it easier to be compassionate to others.

Compassion: Why Now?

As we head into another year of the pandemic, many of us are struggling with fatigue. It’s not just the physical stress of staying healthy, our emotional well-being takes a toll. With so many things on our plate, it can be easy to let some things slide.

Maybe you find you have less patience or tolerance for others. With the amount of pressure we’re under. Sometimes it may seem like we deserve to act out or that we don’t have time to think about others.

That simply isn’t true. The only way we will continue getting through these difficult times is together, support each other and making time for compassion. Sometimes we may just need a reminder to do so.

Consider this your tap on the shoulder.

Things are hard, we know that and it is completely valid. Taking time to show compassion when we can, also means others will have the energy and space when we need compassion.

Also, it doesn’t hurt that studies tell us that being compassionate is actually healthy for us, doing things like lowering our blood pressure and giving our immunity a boost! We all definitely need a little of that right now.