What is self-compassion and why is it important?

Often we are most comfortable with providing others with love, understanding, concern, and empathy. Self-compassion is the ability to direct those same emotions inward. We are deserving of the love we so freely give. We typically lack self-compassion in the face of failure. We deem ourselves undeserving of compassion due to the negative emotions we attach to those failures. Some lack self-compassion in fear that it will lead to self-indulgence or self-pity, but extending compassion toward oneself is not an act of self-indulgence, selfishness, or self-pity. It is important to know that self-compassion is not the same as self-esteem. While self-esteem focuses on favorable self-evaluation, typically for accomplishments, self-compassion is a form of self-acceptance, even in the face of failure. An inability to accept areas of weakness may lead to difficulty achieving emotional well-being.