“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
Steve Jobs
Self-acceptance, or accepting yourself and your situation in life can be a difficult task. Do you tend to be more accepting of others’ mistakes than your own?
If so, you are being too hard on yourself!
Those people aren’t better than you! You were born with a unique set of talents that no one else has. Plus, everyone makes mistakes. We are only human!
Practicing self-acceptance and loving yourself for the fine person that you really are can lead to greater happiness and a more fulfilling life.
Here are some excellent techniques that you can use to help you better accept yourself:
1. Focus on your positive qualities.
Even though self-improvement is a good thing, its important that you identify and focus on your positive qualities rather than concentrating on any qualities you feel negative about.
Maintaining this positive focus will not only help you better accept yourself, but it will also make it easier for you to attain your goals by utilizing your talents to boost yourself forward.
2. Consciously prevent negative thinking patterns.
Negative thinking can really snowball fast if you don’t get ahead of it. It’s okay to be in a bad mood every once in a while and have some negative thoughts; it happens to everyone. You just don’t want this to become your default setting. The trick is in learning how to push those negative thoughts aside and replace them with something positive.
Replace your negative thoughts about yourself with affirmations. Affirmations are positive statements that affirm your positive qualities and help bring out the best in you. You can find affirmations in bookstores and in websites, or you can write your own.
If you believe in yourself, and you tell yourself you can do it, you will do it. It is really that simple.
3. Accept your imperfections.
Another part of being human is having some imperfections. Instead of dwelling on the things you can’t change, accept them for what they are. Making the best of your life starts with accepting your flaws and accepting that we all have them. Nobody is perfect!
4. Use positive self-talk.
As with using affirmations, positive self-talk can help you achieve great things and change the way you think about yourself. Make a point of paying yourself sincere compliments. Over time, this will help with your self-acceptance.
Compliment yourself for the good things about your looks, your positive qualities, and every time you do something right. Do this each and every day until it becomes a habit.
5. Disregard what other people might think about your decisions.
You will never make everyone else happy, and nor should you try. If you did try, you would soon discover that, not only will most people still be unhappy about something, but you will end up exhausted and unhappy yourself.
Male your own decisions according to your priorities and values, and be confident that you are doing what is right for you.
6. Avoid worrying.
Worrying will never help your situation. Rather than wasting your time by being engulfed in fear, take action to do what you can to make the situation better. If there’s nothing you can do to change it, focus on moving forward in other ways.
7. Try your best and accept that you have done what you could.
Do your best every day and be proud of yourself for your efforts. Let go of any negative thoughts, such as being angry with yourself for not being able to accomplish an impossible feat.
Even when you haven’t done your best, for whatever reason, find a way to forgive yourself. Tomorrow is another day. Another chance. Move on and commit to trying harder next time.
In changing the way you think about yourself, you will also change the way you see the world. Every day opens up new opportunities for you, and by utilizing positive thinking, you can make a real difference in your life!
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