Practices of Relational Intelligence Within Yourself

The curious paradox is, when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.

– Carl Rogers

Self-awareness, self-acceptance, and trust in your inner capacities are essential to resilience. These capacities create a home base, a secure sense of self from which you can respond flexibly to all of life’s difficulties. When you turn your focus inward, you feel safe, at home, and at peace, trusting your capacities to engage skillfully and competently with the outer world. When you face a challenging situation, even when you have no clue of how to best respond to it, this inner secure base of resilience allows you to move forward and risk trying something new.

Self-Awareness

• Identifying Personal Traits of Resilience
• Taking in the Good of Yourself
• Carry Love and Appreciation in Your Wallet
• Working with Symbols of Traits of Resilience

Self-Acceptance

• Introduction to Self-Acceptance
• Deep Listening to Core Strengths
• Seeing the Goodness that Others See in You
• Loving and Accepting Yourself, Even Though
• Allowing Inner Parts to Be There
• Expressing Loving Kindness, Even for Unlovable Parts
• Turning Enemies into Allies
• Writing a Compassionate Letter to the Inner Critic
• Introduction to Shame and the Inner Critic
• See also Retire the Inner Critic; Heal Toxic Shame
• Meeting with the Inner Critic

Inner Secure Base

• Sifting and Shifting Parts
• Wiser Self
• The Guest House
• Befriending the Many Parts of Yourself
• Introduction to Healing the Inner Child
• Dialogue between Your Wiser Self and Your Inner Child
• Empowering Your Inner Child to Evoke the Help of Your Wiser Self

Additional exercises are available in Resilience: Powerful Practices for Bouncing Back from Disappointment, Difficulty, and Even Disaster.