Self-compassion versus self-esteem

Excerpt with Berklee College faculty, the Dutch psychologist and jazz singer Vivienne Aerts

Self-compassion versus self-esteem with Vivienne Aerts who teaches mindfulness for performers at Berklee College

“What I like is the holistic view. So in my course I explain the basic premises of mindfulness, but I also explain the background. So we touch on a little bit of Tai Chi, Qigong, Buddhism. We talk about Eckhart Tolle, we talk about Thich Nhat Hanh, different ways of breathing and then we play a lot. I have them play from a space and then I make up exercises where they feel more while they play and we talk about how to be more effective, how to be more compassionate.…I rather instead of self-esteem, we should cultivate self-compassion. And this has been researched by professors like Dr. Kristin Neff , who’s really big into mindfulness and compassion research. There is research on this is way more effective because after a while self-esteem is failing where self-compassion will say, “Oh yeah, you want to be great, you want to be the best, you’re not. That sucks. What can we do? “ Becoming your own best friend is way more effective than saying, “I’m the best. I’m going to kick myself under the butt. I’ll work harder tomorrow. I’ll add the extra hours. Oh, I didn’t practice today. I’ll make up for it tomorrow.” Just the whole pressure one puts on themselves because of self-esteem cultivation.”

Meet the Dutch singer, educator, and psychologist and hear clips from her upcoming album Current, recorded on a 1951 Dutch sailboat, blending jazz, electronics, and vocal loops. Discover her mindfulness-based creative practice, Berklee College of Music teaching, documentary collaboration, and award-winning project Tpuhthang.