Self-Compassion: Does It Help or Hurt Performance?

Ever notice how critical the voice in your head can be? That voice can make us feel pretty crummy at times - but is it also responsible for pushing us to strive for better?

If we had been less self-abusive and more self-compassionate along the way, would we be where we are today? Or is it possible that we would have advanced even further, if we had been a little kinder to ourselves?

There has been increased research attention in the area of self-compassion in recent years. A recurring question amongst high-performers is whether it's "safe" to be more self-compassionate, or if greater self-compassion could lead to a drop in one's competitive edge.

I have a study for you today (Breines & Chen, 2012) that provides some clues to this question. And if you're curious how self-compassionate you are, there's also a short test you can take that will provide an answer!

Get all the nerdy details here:
Self-Compassion: Does It Help or Hurt Performance?

More from The Bulletproof Musician

• Get the free weekly newsletter, for more nerdy details and bonus subscriber-only content.
• Pressure Proof: A free 7-day performance practice crash course that will help you shrink the gap between the practice room and the stage.
• Learning Lab: A continuing education community where musicians and learners are putting research into practice.
• Live and self-paced courses