For years, I was crippled by a harsh inner critic. I constantly questioned whether what I was doing was good enough, whether I belonged, and whether other people would discover that I somehow didn't measure up.

I didn't have a name for it then. I just knew the anxiety, fear, shame, anger, and depression that came with it.

Later, I learned that much of what I was experiencing is often described as imposter syndrome. Research suggests that a large majority of people experience these feelings at some point in their lives, especially people whose identities are underrepresented in the spaces they move through.

For me, being of mixed Chinese-American heritage and rarely seeing people like myself in many of the circles I was part of intensified that sense that maybe I didn't quite belong.

But over time, I realized something important:

The biggest problem isn't that we have judgmental thoughts. It's what happens when we believe them.

When they keep us from speaking up when our voice matters.
When they keep us from contributing what we have to offer.
When they keep us from setting a boundary, taking a risk, receiving appreciation, or becoming more fully who we long to be.

That is the kind of freedom I'm interested in.

And this is where self-compassion can make a profound difference – if it actually works in the middle of real life.

Because what happens when you're triggered during a conversation, rushing to get somewhere, caring for children, overwhelmed with work, or simply don't have 30 quiet minutes to sit and process everything you're feeling?

Over the years, I've found that self-compassion becomes much more useful when it:

• fits into daily life, especially when life is busy
  
• helps us respond to difficult relationships and make healthy boundaries
  
• goes beneath the surface to address the patterns that keep creating suffering
  
• gives us practical ways to reconnect with ourselves in the moments we actually need them
  

That's why I created Practical Self Compassion at Life Speed.

The practices in this course come from more than 20 years of exploring self-compassion in my own life and supporting thousands of others in theirs — drawing from Nonviolent Communication, Zen practice, Somatic Experiencing, Process Communication Model, self-compassion research, and other approaches.

My aim isn't simply to help you become "nicer to yourself."

It's to help you become freer — with more energy, confidence, and joy to speak, choose, create, contribute, and live in ways that reflect who you actually want to be.

Whether you're completely new to self-compassion or you've already done years of inner work, if judgmental thinking still gets in the way of your life, this course was created with you in mind.

I invite you to explore the course below and see if it feels like a fit (see the start time in your time zone).

Jesse Wiens Chu
Executive Director, Baba Tree International
Center for Nonviolent Communication Certified Trainer