compassionate	and	forgiving.	Self-compassion	means	showing	yourself	a
warm	understanding	of	your	perceived	inadequacies,	including	
your
	
struggle
with	anxiety.	Forgiveness	means	voicing	a	kinder	internal	monologue	when
you	encounter	a	setback	or	notice	your	shortcomings.
STRATEGY:	PINK	UNICORNS
Write	a	few	sentences	about	developing	compassionate	self-talk	while	not
thinking	about	pink	unicorns.	Whatever	you	do,	stick	to	the	task	of	writing
about	developing	a	compassionate	internal	narrative,	but	make	sure	NOT	to
think	about	pink	unicorns.	Pink	unicorns	should	be	nowhere	in	your	mind
when	you	do	this	task.	Each	time	you	think	about	a	pink	unicorn,	mark	an	X
in	your	notebook.
How	did	it	go?	Were	you	able	to	not	think	of	pink	unicorns?	Probably	you
were	not	and	here’s	why:	Telling	ourselves	to	not	think	about	something	has
entirely	the	opposite	effect.	This	is	partly	why	it’s	so	frustrating	when	we’re
upset	and	a	well-meaning	friend	or	loved	one	says,	“Stop	thinking	about
that,”	or	“Everything	is	fine,	stop	worrying.”
Daniel	Wegner,	a	renowned	social	psychologist	in	thought	suppression	at
Harvard	University,	asked	lab	participants	to	verbally	share	their	thoughts