This study examined whether a self-compassion intervention enhances creative idea selection by reducing fear of failure (FOF) and whether this relationship is moderated by the need for cognitive closure (NFC). A randomized online experiment with N = 407 participants tested a brief self-compassion exercise against a control task. Measures included state self-compassion, FOF, NFC, and a creative idea selection task focused on ocean conservation website naming. Although the intervention successfully increased self-compassion, it did not significantly improve creative idea selection. FOF did not mediate the relationship, and NFC did not moderate these effects. Exploratory analysis suggests that environmental performance pressure or extrinsic motivators may lead self-compassionate individuals to choose less original ideas. Results indicate brief self-compassion exercises may not effectively influence the complex decision-making involved in creative idea selection, especially in low-pressure contexts. Future research should consider longer self-compassion training, more realistic selection tasks, and additional moderators like ambiguity tolerance or feedback.