Self-acceptance is my refusal to be in an adversarial relationship to myself.
Interpretation
Self-acceptance involves embracing who you are without conflict or self-criticism.
This quote emphasizes the importance of accepting oneself as a fundamental aspect of personal peace and well-being. By rejecting the notion of being at odds with your own identity and feelings, you cultivate a healthier relationship with yourself, which ultimately leads to greater emotional stability and fulfillment.
In practice
In a self-help seminar, the speaker quoted Nathaniel Branden to emphasize the importance of self-acceptance in mental health.
Living consciously is seeking to be aware of everything that bears on our interests, actions, values, purposes, and goals. It is the willingness to confront facts, pleasant or unpleasant. It is the desire to discover our mistakes and correct them . . . it is the quest to keep expanding our awareness and understanding, both of the world external to self and the world within.
If you are an adult, you are responsible for your life and well-being. No one owes you the fulfillment of your needs or wants; no one is here on earth to serve you. If you respect the principle of self-ownership, you understand that no one else owns you and that you do not own anyone else. Only on this understanding can there be peace on earth and good will among human beings.
It is a mistake to look at someone who is self assertive and say, "It's easy for her, she has good self-esteem." One of the ways you build self-esteem is by being self-assertive when it is not easy to do so. There are always times when self-assertiven ess requires courage, no matter how high your self-esteem.
Living consciously reflects the conviction that sight is preferable to blindness; that respecting the facts of reality is more satisfying than denying them; that evasion does not make the unreal real or the real unreal; that it is better to correct your mistakes that to pretend they do not exist; and that the more conscious you are of facts bearing on your life and goals, the more wisely and effectively you can act.
One of the hardest expressions of self-assertiveness is challenging your limiting beliefs.
How do we keep our inner fire alive? Two things, at minimum, are needed: an ability to appreciate the positives in our life β and a commitment to action. Every day, it's important to ask and answer these questions: βWhat's good in my life?β and βWhat needs to be done?
I think it's my job to risk looking foolish. One of the things I've learned from the actors I've worked with is you don't get something for nothing. If you don't risk looking foolish, you'll never do anything special.
When I try to be patient on my own, my patience is forced and short-lived. It is obvious to everyone that I am desperately trying to be patient.
This ability to exist in pieces is what some adults call resilience. And I suppose in some way it is a kind of resilience, a horrible resilience that makes adults believe children forget trauma.
Do not repeat after me words that you do not understand. Do not merely put on a mask of my ideas, for it will be an illusion and you will thereby deceive yourself.
Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.
Every great man is always being helped by everybody, for his gift is to get good out of all things and all persons.
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