S2 Ep 2: How Does Accepting Ourselves – Good AND Bad – Empower Us?

Nobody goes through life without both good and bad Accepting that is empowering. I’ve made and will make more stupid, foolish, and selfish choices in my life. No matter what and how much I study, or the effort to do good I put out – I’ll screw it up along the way. This is not my truth. This is true for everybody. That’s because every single person on the planet makes mistakes, does stupid, foolish, and even selfish things from time to time. What does accepting ourselves mean? We are all a paradox of yin and yang, good and bad, right and wrong, and on and on. We can’t erase, negate, ignore, or otherwise disregard our bad aspects. We are all perfectly imperfect mixes of good and bad. All of us have our positives and our negatives. And when we accept this – we empower ourselves. How does acceptance empower us? Mindfulness lets us see – here and now – what we’re thinking, what we’re feeling, how we’re feeling, what we’re doing, and what our intentions are. That knowledge opens us to see who, what, where, how, and why we are. But in not being accountable – and not accepting both our good and bad – we disempower ourselves. Accepting is more powerful than tolerating Words matter. For example, like the power of want versus desire – the implication and position of a given word will have an impact on its meaning. Accepting means exactly what it says. We recognize, acknowledge, and accept this, that, or whatever it is. Not blindly, not just because – but due to a choice or decision. I accept this. When it comes to ourselves – this is utterly empowering. Why? Because accepting ourselves for all that we are means we can choose new options to be other, more, different, etc. By accepting ourselves as we are – warts and all – we’re empowered to alter this as we see fit. This week’s Applied Guidance for Mindfulness Tool: Think back on something bad, wrong, or that otherwise causes you displeasure. Find something that happened some time ago or is an ongoing habit that continues to displease you. (For example – despite mostly not biting my fingernails anymore – I still chew one off sometimes). Write it down (or type it out). Detail it as thoroughly as you can. Read it over. Let it soak into your soul. Now – accept it. Acknowledge it, be accountable/responsible for it, and don’t blame anyone or anything. Accept it for what it is and how it impacts you and your life. Write down or type out how you are accepting it. (If possible and desired – do what you can to change it). Remember – we cannot undo, redo, or otherwise fix what has passed in the past. But we can learn from it and choose to move on. Accepting is very much a mindful act that’s a part of that. Author Website: https://mjblehart.com Email: [email protected] Instagram Twitter Facebook Blogs: titaniumdon.com and mjblehart.medium.com Cover artist Fe Mahoney: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TaliasInspirations