Balancing Self-Improvement & Self-Acceptance

The desire for self-improvement is innate. We are born with a desire to advance. Without it, a baby would never crawl or stand or walk.  When a baby is learning to walk, he will inevitably fall down, not just once but many times before he masters the skill of walking. And then he will want to run.  When a baby falls down, we don’t think twice about acceptance. The falling down is a necessary part of learning to stand up and move forward.  And as we progress through life, we will fall down many more times as we learn and grow. But at some point we stop getting excited about the falling down. We become self-critical, embarrassed, ashamed. We hide the parts of ourselves that we judge as “imperfect.” We stop trying. And life becomes a struggle.  I work with many people on the journey of self-discovery and self-improvement. The same questions come up: “But if I accept this ‘failure,’ am I doomed to live with it forever?” “Does accepting myself where I am mean I will settle here and not improve?” Maybe what we need is a reframe. What if we looked at every step in life like we look at learning to walk?  Winston Churchill said, “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”  And with no loss of self-respect or self-love. And if the self-respect, self-esteem, or self-love have been lost, they can be redeemed. This is the topic of this week’s Meditation & Healing Circle. Listen to this episode for a heart-centered healing experience. You're invited to join us LIVE for The Meditation & Healing Circle - every Sunday at 10am US ET / 7am US PT. When you join live, you can stay on after the recorded meditation for Q&A, support and discussion. http://CommunityforConsciousLiving.com