Be kind and compassionate towards oneself

This hadith is about how we should not punish ourselves unnecessarily. The Prophet saw an old man walking between his two sons and asked what was wrong. They said he had vowed to walk, so the Prophet told him that Allah does not need him to punish himself and ordered him to ride instead. This teaches us that we should be merciful with ourselves, as Allah is merciful with us. We should not put unnecessary burdens on ourselves or vow something that will cause us harm or difficulty in fulfilling it; rather, we should be compassionate towards ourselves as Allah is compassionate towards us. We can still strive for self-improvement without punishing ourselves in the process; this way, our efforts will be more meaningful and beneficial in the long run.