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Self-Acceptance is the first step towards Happiness
We are perfectly imperfect and acceptance of this imperfection is vital to our psychological well-being. We have strengths as well as weaknesses. It is unproblematic to accept your strong point, but when we look at our weak points we feel overwhelmed and it’s hard to accept. Sense of judgment and rejection make it even more difficult to talk about your flaws.
Self-acceptance is a significant feature of health and happiness. I have seen many patients who stay in the mindset of denial. They do not accept the situation and try to run away from their situations. When you deny your flaws and find it thorny to overcome your failures, then you may be missing self-acceptance. Without it, it is effortless to be extremely self-critical and obsessed over your shortcomings.
Negative emotions grow inside you when you are self-critical and have difficulty accepting yourself as who you are. Negative feelings directly impact your mental and physical health. They hold you back from becoming everything you are competent of becoming. It hinders you to achieve the life you wish and want for yourself.
Lacking self-acceptance makes you vulnerable. It develops self-loathing and makes you feel lonely because when you find it hard to face your failures. It is even more difficult for you to show your weaker side to society. Because we set high standards for ourselves and forget that everyone is imperfect. As result, it causes your loneliness.
Self-acceptance is unconditional which means we accept every part of ourselves without any judgment.
In the six-factor model of psychological well-being, self-acceptance is one of the essential components of mental and psychological health.
High self-acceptance has many benefits and it leads you to better mood regulation, increased positive feelings, and lesser depressive symptoms.
Lacking self-acceptance has the worst psychological effects, people without self-acceptance suffer in emotional health and it hampers their effort to have a happier and successful life.
How Can You identify Low Self-Acceptance?
A lot of people suffer from a lack of self-acceptance. A research study showed that in early adolescence person’s self-acceptance is completely dependent on parents and caretakers. While you were growing up and If you have parents who communicated verbally or non verbally that you are not good enough and attractive you may start thinking of yourself as only conditionally acceptable. This thought pattern likely had a negative influence on your acceptance.
A lot of people suffer from a lack of self-acceptance. A research study showed that in early adolescence person’s self-acceptance is completely dependent on parents and caretakers. While you were growing up and If you have parents who communicated verbally or non verbally that you are not good enough and attractive you may start thinking of yourself as only conditionally acceptable. This thought pattern likely had a negative influence on your acceptance.
Here are some signs and symptoms of low self-acceptance:
- You have difficulty accepting your flaws.
- You find it difficult to present yourself as the way you are to society.
- You mostly have a negative attitude towards yourself.
- You are constantly self-critical and have difficulty identifying your true self.
- You depend on others for your happiness.
- You constantly justify yourself.
- You crave the love and attention of others.
- You keep going back to the people you dislike.
- You have a victim mentality.
- You are harsh on yourself for little mistakes.
We all undergo these symptoms at one point in life or another, but if you find yourself persistently showing these behavioral patterns then it would be a good suggestion to seek help to develop better self-acceptance.
How to grow Better Self-Acceptance?
Learn to love yourself because it’s crucial for a healthy mind and body. Self-acceptance is about letting go of the things which are no longer serving and clearing the way for the things that are good and make you exceptional. Nevertheless, being content in your skin isn’t always easy. To follow self-acceptance in your daily life below mentioned are some ways you can practice.
- Be kind to yourself: Go easy with yourself on a mental and physical level. Give yourself some space and look on the brighter side of your flaws. The world is perfectly imperfect so are you. Give yourself time and accept your flaws as they are your only strengths. When you own them they become your strengths and nobody can use them against you.
- Positive mindset: Focus on positive and make a habit of positive thinking. Your thoughts are your reality. When you spend time thinking about your negatives and flaws that mean you are watering them and you attract more negative into your life. So the habit of positive thinking can bring you inner and outer peace.
- Celebrate your accomplishments: Do not wait for others to arrange a party for your accomplishment. It is your responsibility to celebrate your accomplishments. Give yourself compliments for little achievement. In this way, you will achieve big things.
- Recognize your strengths; give yourself time. Spend at least 30 minutes with yourself and identify your strengths. Write it down and recall them at least 10 times a day.
- Accept or let go if you can’t change: When you cannot do anything about something you accept because there is no other round. Welcome the things you love about yourself and let go of what you cannot change in your personality.
- Embrace what makes you unique: Be self-aware and appreciate your differences. Your differences make you unique and make you stand out. Evaluate your differences and see how they can make you unique.
- Welcome your Feelings whatever they are: Do not label your feelings as good or bad. Feelings are not good and bad. When you label them you find it difficult to accept the bad ones and you only focus on good. Before accepting you try to label and this takes into a swirl of other feelings. You lose the essence of true happiness and you find it difficult to accept yourself and your feelings.
- Be perfectly imperfect: The world is perfectly imperfect. Even the people we perceive as perfect are imperfect. Our imperfections are our uniquenesses. Explore yourself and find your imperfection. Make yourself easy with them if you have something different own it. Failure is part of life and acknowledging it will make you more able to accept yourself.
- Do not compare: When we constantly compare ourselves with others, we find it difficult to accept ourselves. Comparison is the killer of happiness. Comparison creates an illusion. It creates the illusion of happiness. When you compare you think all the other people are happy and have good things in life. Remember that self-acceptance is unconditional and it doesn’t demand comparison. Your life is exceptionally your own, and for that reason, it will always be precious to you.
- Do not be mind full but be mindful: Be mindful of your life. What you feed to your mind and body is what you become. Meditate in silence and recall your strengths. Work on your weaknesses in silence. Give time to them you may find them as your strengths. Make a habit of writing a journal. Do the exercise of eliminating negative and dysfunctional thoughts and start thinking positively. While practicing this exercise do not forget to practice self-acceptance.
Inadequate feelings lead towards lesser self-acceptance and it usually roots in early life experiences. Self-acceptance can be improved which in return boosts emotional and mental health. For this purpose all, you need to practice is some mental shifts and be mindful to accept yourself often.
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