Beginning the New Year with Self-Compassion
The start of a new year often brings a wave of reflection — and with it, a quiet pressure to measure where we are against where we think we should be. We scroll through highlight reels, read lists of goals and achievements, and start to wonder: Am I doing enough? Did I grow enough? Am I enough?
At Untethered Therapy, we believe reflection is most meaningful when it’s rooted in curiosity, not comparison. Growth isn’t a race or a checklist — it’s a lived experience. And it doesn’t always look like progress from the outside.
The Subtle Weight of Comparison
Comparison is often disguised as motivation. We tell ourselves it helps us improve — but more often, it disconnects us from our own truth. When we measure our lives against someone else’s, or even against our own past expectations, we lose sight of the quieter forms of growth: the moments of honesty, the small boundaries kept, the simple choice to rest when you used to push through. Healing and growth rarely look like resolutions. They often look like release.
Reframing Reflection
Instead of asking, What did I accomplish? you might ask:
- What did I learn about myself this year?
- Where did I practice courage or gentleness?
- What am I ready to let go of — not because I failed, but because it no longer fits?
Reflection without comparison invites honesty over judgment and awareness over achievement. It reminds us that life isn’t lived in competition, but in connection.
A Reflection Exercise: Looking Back with Kindness
If you’d like to begin this year with self-compassion, take a few moments for some gentle reflection with one of the following prompts:
- What’s one thing that surprised me about myself this past year?
- When did I choose care — for myself or someone else — over perfection?
- In what small ways did I practice being present?
- What am I proud of that no one else could see?
- What would it feel like to measure this year not by outcomes, but by honesty?
(You can journal, draw, or simply sit with the answers that surface — no judgment, no goal, just noticing.)
A Different Kind of Beginning
The new year doesn’t have to be a sprint toward self-improvement. It can be a slow exhale — an opportunity to notice who you are right now, and to trust that it’s enough. Growth begins in gentleness. May this new year bring you moments of quiet reflection, kindness toward yourself, and peace in knowing you don’t have to compare your journey to anyone else’s — not even your own.
You don’t need to start over this year. You can simply begin — right where you are.