This month we’re talking about self-acceptance, which is very different to self love, self belief, self esteem. They’re all parts of a puzzle. Self-acceptance, however, is the total package, and I can hear some of you disagreeing with me already. Surely self love is more important. Self belief is more important. The point is, when we don’t accept ourselves, our self belief is diminished. Our self love is non existent, no matter what we tell ourselves.

Self acceptance says, I am who I am. And that’s okay. If we can say that and believe it, then whatever challenges we face in our life, we’re more than capable of meeting them. If we focus on being loving to self, telling ourselves that we do love ourselves, that we’re opening our heart to who we are, it’s a mental exercise. When we accept ourselves, it goes beyond that. We are willing to look at what are the things that we don’t like about who we are and look at why those things are there, whether they’re meant to be addressed, or whether they’re part of the journey. And that may sound confrontational to some. Why would having a bad temper be part of the journey? Well, perhaps because it’s indicating an emotional body that’s out of control and that needs some help. It feels overwhelmed, it doesn’t know what to do. And so anger has become the only solution because it drives people away and allows space for breathing.