accept yourself

Self-acceptance is an essential aspect of our journey of self-appreciation and fulfillment. We have to begin right where we are. There’s a common misconception about acceptance: people often confuse acceptance with surrender or resignation. In reality, however, accepting something doesn’t mean that you’re resigned about it or that it’ll never change.

Acceptance doesn’t even mean that you have to agree with something and like how it is. Acceptance simply means that you accept how it is and make peace with it.We sometimes think that if we accept something, we’ll no longer want to change it or improve on it; we sometimes consider acceptance as failure. Paradoxically, the opposite is true.When we fully accept something about ourselves, we then have the space and perspective to look at it and deal with it from a more balanced and healthy place. So much of our suffering as human beings comes from our not accepting things as they are, especially things about ourselves. 

You can accept and appreciate yourself and your life, right now.You don’t have to wait until you lose the weight, make the money, fall in love, accomplish the goal, or do whatever it is you think you need to do in order to be “good” or “happy.” So often we find ourselves waiting for “someday” to appreciate ourselves.We think that after we “make it” we’ll be happy and that at that point we’ll fully accept and appreciate who we are. As we all know from experience, this kind of thinking doesn’t work, and it makes us miserable in the process. The key is to be able to accept and appreciate ourselves in this moment, regardless of what’s going on in our lives.

Focus on the Good Stuff, Mike Robbins