Practice Self-Compassion

Quick Win

Want to increase your happiness and resilience? Sideline your inner critic and start treating yourself the way you treat your friends: with kindness.

Try This Today

• Be your own best friend. If you make a mistake, experience a disappointment or feel intimidated, give yourself a pep talk. Like The Beach Boys famously sang, “Don’t worry baby, everything will turn out alright.”
• See the big picture. Be compassionate about the challenges you’re facing. Everyone struggles sometimes. It’s part of being human.
  
• Support yourself with touch. We respond to warm, caring touch, whether it comes from others or ourselves. One technique: Put your hand on your heart and take a few deep breaths.

Why

We tend to equate compassion with kindness to others, but directing that kindness inward may benefit your health. Practicing self-compassion means treating yourself with love and care and accepting that you’re a flawed human being, just like everyone else. Older adults who learn self-compassion techniques and put them into practice can improve their overall mental well-being while reducing stress and anxiety, according to a systematic review of 11 studies involving a total of 357 participants with a mean age of about 60 published in Aging & Mental Health in 2025.