Connecting with Your Values (“Acceptance,” continued)

Our society dictates the standards we live by.

Because these standards are widely accepted, we all feel we should be able to meet them. By “standards,” I’m referring to the images of how we should look, feel and act. Images everywhere tend to dictate our appearance, and we often fall prey to comparing ourselves to an idealized version of “normal,” and consider ourselves less-than perfect. Or even less-than-good.

As we continue to review your reality from the perspective of what it is that you want, you can – and must – accept yourself for who and what you are today. This unconditional acceptance of yourself gives you the power to change anything you want to improve.

It doesn’t mean that you’ll never think another negative or limiting thought or have self doubts and worries (just consider all the advertisements with negative-size models, and the picture-perfect actors and actresses who fill the screens on television and in the movies). But acceptance means for you that doubts and worries are only thoughts. They’re not truths!

Start practicing this idea immediately – that your thoughts are only thoughts, that feelings are no facts. They are not the truth. Sure, you can live in your feelings, and you can swamp yourself by a negative outlook. But that doesn’t mean that this is reality. If you realize that you’re in the middle of a negative self-assessment, you can move beyond it, and negativity will lose its power over you. You’ll quickly notice that your life, beginning right now, is that much more fulfilling.

As a word of caution, please seek professional help if nothing makes you feel better and if you continue to have thoughts of complete hopelessness. This could be a sign of clinical depression, and you might need a professional jump start to help you get back on the right track. If this sounds true for you, please contact a doctor immediately so that you can begin your healing process.

Remember your life is not about being perfect but about accepting and connecting with your own values.

Where are you in your life right now? Are you beginning to change your perspective? Have there been times when you’ve felt so blue, so let down by circumstances, that you lived in negativity? I’d love to hear from you about this – your stories of your struggles and your triumphs will enrich all of us. Thank you for you sharing with me, and with us!