The Path to Self-Acceptance

You need to free yourself from self punishment in order to be healed. When you release yourself from the negative thoughts that hold you back – and accept yourself fully – you are setting yourself on a journey toward contentment, peace, and happiness.

Healing is a big part of the spiritual awakening process, as is self-love and acceptance. In fact, I think self-love might just be the fastest way to get beneath all the false layers and find the real you.

But before you can truly love who you are, or see yourself clearly, you may need to have more of a sense of self-acceptance and compassion.

When you let go of the ingrained tendency toward self-criticism and self-punishment and make a decision to be kind to yourself and accept what you see as flaws, mistakes, or limitations, so much will change for you.

But how can you get from here to there? And do you really need to?

Let's look a little closer...
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5 Signs that You're Being
​too Hard On Yourself 

(1) You dwell on your mistakes.

It's all too easy to do. In fact, in our society, we're actually encouraged to find fault with ourselves.

(2) You compare yourselves to others.

There’s always someone richer, better looking, more musically talented, “luckier,” etc. 

(3) You don’t give your own ideas a fair chance.

How many great ideas have you had, but then dismissed due to self-doubt or self-criticism?

(4) You spend a lot of time thinking about painful past experiences.

When you focus on negative experiences you’re much less likely to accept yourself or your current reality. And the present is all we have.

(5) It's hard for you to receive compliments.

When you have a hard time with the positive things people say about you, it is a sure sign that you don't think well of yourself.

​We’ve been taught that the ideal person is financially successful, athletic, attractive, cool under pressure, hilarious, creative, and the life of the party. Who can live up to them all?

But if we are too critical of ourselves, what can we do to accept ourselves more? 
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I think happiness comes from self-acceptance. We all try different things, and we find some comfortable sense of who we are. We look at our parents and learn and grow and move on. We change.
– Jamie Lee Curtis 

7 Ways to Increase Self-Acceptance

Let go of your mistakes and failures

Take the necessary time to learn from your negative experiences. Once you’ve done that, there’s nothing else to be gained by them.

Let them go. Decide how you can avoid making the same error in the future. Then move on.

Only compare yourself to yourself.

Comparing yourself to someone else is like comparing a tree to a loaf of bread. There’s no comparison.

Separate yourself from your emotions.

Your emotions are separate from you. Observe them as a feeling in your body, or as a piece of paper blowing down the street. Just observe them.

Be aware of what makes you unique and embrace it.

It’s your uniqueness that potentially provides the most value to you and the world.

Let go of the things you can’t change or control.

Ask yourself, “Is there anything I can do about this?” If not, there’s no reason to dwell on it.

Be more assertive.

Let people know what you think. Give your opinion.

Allow your voice to be heard. Do the things you want to do. Assertiveness is a form of honesty - about you and your own desires.

Continue evolving.

Those with little self-acceptance tend to be stuck. They can’t move toward anything positive.

Be honest with yourself about what you like and dislike and allow your life to evolve.

Treat each day as a new opportunity to practice self-acceptance. Commit to being kind to yourself.

Develop self-acceptance habits and let go of your tendency to judge yourself harshly. Find ways to free yourself from your negative emotions.

Meditation as a Way to Increase
​Self-Acceptance

Though meditation and mindfulness have been around for several thousands of years, they have enjoyed a new level of popularity. Even the scientific world is sharing research results about the benefits of meditation. 

Meditation is a powerful method of stripping away the everything that stands in the way of realizing the truth.

Meditation allows you to see your erroneous thoughts and beliefs more easily. It also provides more emotional control.

When your emotions are appropriate, and proportionate, it’s easier to accept yourself and others. 

Have you tried meditation? And if so, have you found that it helps you accept yourself more?

See you next time!

​Love, Jeanine