Self-acceptance

The following article was submitted by Mr William Mackson Phiri.

A professional working in Education at Chibavi Secondary School, Mzuzu. He is a passionate mental health worker and motivational speaker, and organizational development manager.

Contact him 24/7 through the number below:

0881 072 613

SELF-ACCEPTANCE

Self-acceptance is having an awareness of your perceived imperfections and shortcomings, whilst simultaneously knowing you are worthy, and deserving of compassion and kindness exactly as you are. It is a velvet embrace of your entire being. This includes positive or negative, physical or mental attributes. It implies the recognition that one’s values supersede personal attributes and actions. It gives one more confidence in yourself and makes you less vulnerable to criticism.

To attain self-acceptance, you must learn to accept the parts of yourself considered negative or undesirable. It is also important to acknowledge and celebrate your qualities and achievements.

Self-acceptance is not only about accepting our qualities and giving up on changing them. Rather, it is also about being aware of our weaknesses without having any emotional attachment to them. This self-awareness can help us build better habits in the long run. Because true belonging only happens when you present your authentic, imperfect self to the world, your sense of belonging can never be greater than your level of self-acceptance.

SIGNS THAT YOU LACK SELFACCEPTANCE acceptance can boost your mood and shield you from the effects of stress and depression.

Signs that you lack self-acceptance include having difficulty in acknowledging and talking about your failures, weaknesses, and negative traits; lacking self-love and having a deep desire to be someone other than who you are; a negative outlook on life for no particular reason; and being hypercritical of yourself and your own identity.

Research shows that self-acceptance is fundamental for overall mental health and well-being. Self-acceptance affects our daily life through such ways as helps you control your emotions A lack of self-acceptance can affect the part of your brain responsible for controlling your emotions. This can lead to mental imbalance and emotional outbursts as a result of elevated anxiety, stress and anger. It limits your capacity for happiness. It also affects your psychological and emotional wellbeing. It keeps you focused on the negative aspects of yourself, and these negative thoughts create negative emotions. On the contrary, high levels of self-acceptance are linked to more positive emotions and greater psychological well-being. Self-

Self-acceptance helps you forgive yourself. Learning to accept yourself helps you be less self-critical. It helps you create a more positive, compassionate, and balanced view of yourself, acceptance and forgiveness are two sides of the same coin. The inability to accept and forgive ourselves causes us to split into different parts. These parts – the one that needs to be forgiven and the one that needs to forgive – are at loggerheads with each other. Self-acceptance is the ultimate bridge between them, empowering you to forgive yourself for your mistakes and move on. This is vital for your wellbeing, as dwelling on the past will keep you stuck in the cycle of negative thoughts and emotions hence rendering your life unproductive.

Moreover, self-acceptance gives you more self-confidence. It also leads to self-compassion. Self-acceptance also helps you be yourself. Thus, it helps you feel better about yourself and makes you feel capable of dealing with life’s challenges. Because you believe in yourself, you don’t try to convince others. Because you are content with yourself, you don’t need other’s approval. Because you accept yourself, the whole world accepts you. Without self-acceptance, you essentially devalue yourself and this, more often than not, has a doom-loop effect on all areas of your life, including your work, friends, family, health, and well-being.

How To Accept Yourself

Proven strategies in accepting yourself include embracing your values; setting boundaries; forgiving yourself; avoiding self-blame; desisting from comparison to others; focusing on positivity and keeping a journal where you note down your strengths and accomplishments; cease the quest for perfection; practice gratitude as a source of your aptitude for your altitude. You can also use the IMAGE concept to develop selfacceptance. Innovate every day. Develop Mastery of who and what you are. Cultivate Authenticity. This will give you the Guts to face life’s challenges. Above everything, it will enable you to develop Ethics to live by through boundary setting.

Accepting yourself is the magic formula for happiness and peace which ultimately leads to a sense of wellbeing. On the other hand, lack of selfacceptance and a negative view of yourself can cause you to have low selfconfidence and a greater risk of conditions such as depression and anxiety.

To find out more, please contact William through the number provided, or reach out to one of the mental health providers listed.