When you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you.

10 NLP techniques to cultivate self-compassion

January 24, 2023

In NLP training, we often talk about compassion, but what about self-compassion? I love creating NLP techniques, so I set myself a challenge to create 10 of them in 10 minutes. I did get a little help from my NLP training students here in Mexico right now. Below, the results. You can use these techniques on yourself as well as others.

Ever noticed that sometimes we have an easier time being compassionate towards others than we have compassion towards ourselves.

Lack of self-compassion connects to many other problems

This results in complex (self) coaching topics such as:

Regret
Guilt
Perfectionism
Low self-regard (which is a marker of Emotional Intelligence, EQ.)
Self-esteem issues
Lack of self-love
Not feeling good enough
Feelings of inferiority.
Etc.

10 NLP techniques to cultivate self-compassion

Here are 10 NLP Techniques to cultivate self-compassion, sometimes mixed elements of the latest science of positive psychology. Global NLP training is unique as a company to teach positive psychology, social & emotional intelligence, and design inside our classes. If you are a former student, you will love using the below NLP techniques, not just for self-compassion but also for other NLP coaching sessions you need to design.

1 Looking at yourself through someone else’s eyes

Float your awareness into the shoes of someone who loves you, and look at yourself through their eyes. Be this person, see what this person sees, hear what they hear, and feel what they feel. And from this space, give yourself compassion. What did you learn about yourself looking at yourself from someone else’s perspective?

2 Dissociating from yourself

Imagine you can see yourself on a movie screen giving compassion to someone else. What specifically did you say? How specifically did you show this person compassion? What was the reasoning or the thinking you used? What did you teach them? This will should fuel a series of ideas on how you can be access self-compassion.

3 Using a mentor to teach you compassion

Based on the lessons learned in the above 2 NLP techniques. Can you visualize a hologram of a mentor in front of you? What would this mentor look like? Sound like? How would that make you feel? Can you tell where you feel that in your body and augment that feeling by making it more intense.?

4 Associating into a positive moment in the past

Think of a time where you were able to give compassion to yourself. Float back in time, and step into the shoes of that younger you. What did you see, hear and feel? Cultivate that feeling of self-compassion.

5 Hunt the good stuff

When you consider to the context that is the cause of your lack of self-compassion, what you are looking at is all the bad stuff you have done. What would happen if you strictly focused on the good things you did in that situation? The things you did to the best of your ability based on what you knew at the time?

6 The better future part 1

What specifically do you want to say about yourself in the present moment 15 years from now? And what would it be like if you were more whole, wiser, more compassionate towards yourself and others in the future? And 15 years have passed! Looking back how would you want the you of the present moment to behave? To think? To feel?

7 The better future part 2

What would happen if you float your mind into the future and stepped into the you 15 years from now. You would see what you would see, hear what you would hear, and feel what you would feel? And from this place, see yourself being the age you are today. And from this place, tell your younger self what that you needs to know about self-compassion and compassion. Give your younger self the gift of compassion from the future.

8 Gestalt of the younger self – growing up

Imagine you see your 7-year-old self in front of you. This you was innocent, learning, trying to live life the best way you knew how. In your learning, you were continuously making mistakes; after all you were a kid. Imagine giving your younger self-compassion. You can give this self-compassion by talking to yourself, visualize a growing light, see floating words of compassion going towards your younger self etc. Then slowly grow up the younger self to the age you are now when that younger self integrates with your body.

9 Daily 10 minutes

Journal 10 minutes a day on three things specifically that went well today and why, and how this relates you are worthy and deserving of self-compassion.

10 Extending the movie

Imagine seeing a movie with yourself in the you in the moment or context you feel a lack of self-compassion. Keep playing the movie until 1 day later, 1 week later., 1 month later, 1 year later, 5 years later etc.