The Road to Growth Is Paved with Self Compassion (https://www.smartguy.com/) You’ve probably heard that growth takes hard work. That it takes hustle, effort, and determination. And while that’s true… there’s something just as important that people rarely talk about: The road to growth is paved with self-compassion. We think that being tough on ourselves is how we get better. That self-criticism will push us to improve. But science - and real life - tell a different story. Just look at Kristen Neff, one of the world’s leading researchers on self-compassion. She found that people who treat themselves with kindness when they fail are actually more motivated, more resilient, and more successful. Why? Because encouragement fuels progress - shame shuts it down.