Thriving in 2025: Practicing Self-Compassion to Achieve Your Goals

Congratulations on making it through month one of 2025! Is it just me, or has January felt like the longest month ever?! Like many of you, I started this year with fresh goals and intentions. With January coming to a close I took some time to reflect on the progress I've made over the past few weeks, and let's just say I wasn't too happy with it. I found myself caught in a cycle of self-criticism, focusing on what I hadn't accomplished rather than celebrating the small wins along the way. After spiraling in my thoughts for a while, I realized that the thoughts I was having were not productive, and that I was being way too hard on myself.

Maybe like me, you’ve said some of these things during your own moments of reflection:

"I’m not doing enough."

"I'm not capable."

"Everyone else is doing so much more than me."

"Everything keeps getting in the way."

"I'll never be able to do this."

"Maybe I should just give up."

Sound familiar?

Our thoughts, feelings, and the things we tell ourselves along the way have the ability to either encourage our progress toward goals or discourage us from making progress toward goals.

Using Self-Compassion to Stay Encouraged

It's easy to fall into the trap of self-deprecation, especially when the expectations we set for ourselves feel overwhelming. I decided to reassess my approach and began to consider the importance of self-compassion in this journey. Self-compassion involves treating yourself with kindness and understanding during times of challenges or failures, rather than giving in to self-deprecation.

Self-deprecation has the ability to...

Discourage us – It drains the motivation we started with.
Erode our self-esteem – It makes us doubt our abilities and believe we’re not capable.
Keep us stuck – It shifts our focus to self-criticism instead of solutions.

Self-Compassion has the ability to...

Keep us encouraged – It allows us to move forward without being weighed down by negativity.
Help us focus on progress – It reminds us that setbacks don’t define our success.
Boost resilience – It builds confidence and helps us bounce back from challenges.

A Little Self-Grace Keeps You in the Race to Achieve your Goals

Here are a few ways to practice self-compassion while working toward your goals:

✅ Be mindful of your thoughts – Are they negative or judgmental? Try reframing them in a more positive or neutral way.

✅ Allow for flexibility – Rigid goals can be a setup for failure. It’s okay to modify your goals when needed.

✅ Remember your “why” – What inspired you to set this goal in the first place? Keep that motivation in focus.

✅ Celebrate every win – No progress is too small. Write it down and acknowledge it—it’ll fuel your momentum.

✅ Accept the ups and downs – There’s no perfect path to success. Challenges and disappointments don’t mean you’ve failed.

The Takeaway

The road to achieving goals can be both exciting and challenging. My hope is that in this new year and beyond, you find ways to be kinder to yourself. Being self-compassionate lets you enjoy your wins, big or small, and see setbacks as chances to learn instead of dead ends. When you give yourself grace, you give yourself the gift of growth.

What’s one way you can practice self-compassion today? Drop it in the comments—I’d love to hear!