Self-Compassion Questionnaire
This quick reflection helps you check in on how you respond to yourself when things get hard, especially during setbacks, slow progress, or when you're not feeling like your strongest self.
If you're someone recovering from injury, illness, or just navigating your own goals on the trail (or off), think about how these statements show up in your day-to-day life, especially when you're frustrated, stuck, or not meeting your own expectations.
How to fill out this questionnaire
Please read each statement carefully before answering.
Then indicate how often you feel or behave that way.
Try to answer based on how things actually are-not how you wish they were.
This is not about judging yourself. It is just about noticing where you're at, so you can keep moving forward with a little more self-awareness and kindness.
Never
Always
1. When I fail at something important to me, I become consumed by feelings of inadequacy.
2. I try to be understanding and patient towards those aspects of my personality I don't like.
3. When something painful happens, I try to take a balanced view of the situation.
4. When I'm feeling down, I tend to feel like most other people are probably happier than I am.
5. I try to see my failings as part of the human condition.
6. When I'm going through a very hard time, I give myself the caring support I need.
7. When something upsets me, I try to keep my emotions in balance.
8. When I fail at something that's important to me, I tend to feel alone in my failure.
9. When I'm feeling down, I tend to obsess and fixate on everything that's wrong.
10. When I feel inadequate in some way, I try to remind myself that feelings of inadequacy are shared by most people.
11. I'm disapproving and judgmental about my own flaws and inadequacies.
12. I'm intolerant and impatient towards those aspects of my personality I don't like.
Total self-compassion score:
0What your score means
Self-compassion is about being kind to ourselves when things get hard-and remembering that struggle is part of being human.
This score gives you a general snapshot of how you respond to yourself when you're facing setbacks, stuck in a tough patch, or just not feeling like your strongest self. It is not a judgment-just information you can use to reflect and grow.
48 and above:
You're close to the summit.
You've built a pretty strong foundation of kindness, honesty, and perspective. You're able to meet yourself with care when things get tough and bounce back more easily from setbacks. You know your struggles don't define you-and you don't let them pull you too far off course.
36-47:
You're navigating switchbacks.
You probably go back and forth-some days showing yourself grace, other days getting caught in self-criticism. That's totally normal. There's a good chance you'd benefit from a little more self-compassion practice to help create more consistency and ease.
You might notice some familiar patterns like guilt, frustration, or being hard on yourself when you're not performing the way you'd like. The good news? You're already aware of it-and that's where change begins.
35 or less:
You're at the trailhead, sorting your gear. This is a great place to begin.
If self-compassion doesn't feel natural yet, you're not alone. Maybe your go-to is to push harder, ignore how you're feeling, or judge yourself when things don't go as planned. That can be a heavy way to carry hard experiences.
The tools and practices in this guide are here to help you build a different relationship with yourself-one rooted in curiosity, kindness, and trust. You're not broken. You're learning. And that matters.
Sources for the questionnaire:
Neff KD. The development and validation of a scale to measure self-compassion. Self Identity. 2003 Sep;2(3):223-50.
Raes F, Pommier E, Neff KD, Van Gucht D. Construction and factorial validation of a short form of the Self-Compassion Scale. Clin Psychol Psychother. 2011 May;18(3):250-5.