Finding Self-acceptance 1

Self-acceptance is not a critical judgment against yourself as to whether or not you measure up to your own standards or the standards of others. Rather, it is complete acceptance of all that you are, as you are, without judgment. It is an understanding of your fallible, emotional, and human nature. Release any shame and guilt over perceived imperfection.

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Instead of suppressing parts of yourself, strive to work with all facets of yourself. Strive to love yourself unconditionally. Work with yourself, as you are, to create and maintain the highest possible quality of life that you can for yourself.

Completely discard the idea and ideal of perfection. No one is perfect. There is no expectation for you to be perfect. Stop asking the impossible of yourself. Stop judging yourself. Stop the negative inner-dialogue. Stop critiquing yourself. Stop reprimanding yourself.

Let go of the past and anything you can't change. Focus only on what you can do, want to do, and are willing to do. Be realistic about your time, energy, and what you are actually willing to do, and let go of the rest.

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Practice speaking to yourself with kindness and love. Celebrate yourself. Celebrate anything and everything you can about yourself, even if it seems small or silly. Positive self-dialogue will have a tremendous impact on your outlook, well-being, and the quality of your life.

If it helps, journal what you celebrate. Make lists. Practice self gratitude. Remember, you are the one person that you will spend the rest of your life with. The relationship you have with yourself will be the single most important relationship you will ever have in your life. The quality of that relationship will impact everything else in your life, including any relationships you have with others.

Judgments and self-critique are ego based. Ego-based thinking is limiting. Begin tapping into your potential by releasing expectations and attachment to outcome.

-You do not need to constantly measure yourself.
-Your self-image is not defined by success or failure.
-Your mistakes do not define you.
-You are not a failure because you have made a mistake.
-You are not less of a human being or any less important because you have made mistakes.
-You do not have to give up your self-respect if you have made a mistake.

Redefine how you think about yourself. Build new habits. Practice kindness, compassion, and forgiveness towards yourself.

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Exercise:

Create and state your intention:

"For the next __ hour(s), I will practice self-forgiveness and kindness towards myself. I will not judge or criticize myself. I will not reprimand or punish myself. I will leave the past in the past. I will not worry about the future. I will focus on the here and now. I will do the best I can. I will not attach to outcome or expectation. I will not second guess my decisions or actions. If I face adversity, I will return to intent, and act from a place of love. I am worthy of my own love."

Note: If you have noticed that you are in the habit of criticizing yourself a lot, you may want to decrease this to an hour by hour span, or before beginning a new task(particularly with difficult tasks). Reaffirm your intention. Don't worry if you accidentally critique yourself. Try and catch yourself if you can, but don't beat yourself up if you forget. Just keep going. Establishing a new habit takes time and practice. Practice self-forgiveness during this process. Remember, focus on intention. Detach from expectation and outcome. Just try. Just keep trying.

Akiroq Brost