Our last article talked about acceptance and the world around you – my world is fine everyone else is screwed up. I mentioned that I would talk about an important aspect of that – self acceptance. This involves two simple steps. Things you need to start and stop doing! Today I’m just going to mention some of the things you can do. We can look at more detail later.
stop doing
- stop all self criticism
- stop comparing yourself to others
- stop activities you don’t enjoy
- stop expressing negative emotions…if you do you will feel them
- stop over thinking things…this will scare you.
- stop complaining
start doing
- start thinking positive things about yourself…change your thoughts
- list all of your past “victories” and accomplishments…no matter how small the triumph
- give more of yourself to other people..without expecting anything back
- start doing activities you love
- live your own life…the one you want to live
- be more gentle and kind
- be patient
- ask for help…friends are meant to be there for you and it is not a sign of weakness to ask for support
- start loving yourself…only then can you love others
- let mistakes happen…and learn from them
- be happy with how you look
- take good care of your body
- also take good care of your mind
- set achievable goals…and focus on them
You can see there are a lot of actions you can start doing today. Simple things. Pick one or two and practice. We can get into the detail of how and why later. Self acceptance is one of the pillars of a healthy and prosperous life. Without it you will never find peace.
I want to thank you for the wise words you put on this website. I am an ISTP, I intend to be a bit paranoid, I cannot deal with people who are always trying one up everyone or trying to make themselves better than everyone, I cannot stand people that will start problems behind your back without coming to you first. I read this page today and it has helped me, I have the tendency to keep things to myself and than I explode and it is not pretty, so any other advice, please e mail it to me.