Practicing Self-Acceptance

I was in the middle of the angels’ section of the newsletter when a wave of sleepiness overcame me. I accepted it, dropped everything, took a short nap, and finished easily upon awakening. 

Last weekend, I surrendered to my heart. I gardened, cooked, tidied up, and then sat down to work on t-shirts, pleasantly surprised to have a steady stream of non-stop inspiration. In the past, I would have debated about my heart’s guidance and wondered why on earth I was creating over 50 Fourth of July designs, but now I just accepted it, rolled with it, and trusted there was a reason. 

Later, the angels pointed out that as I was designing those shirts, I was focused on all that was good and beautiful about our country and quietly praying to preserve that. What my limited mind would have considered a fun but not terribly important day ended up being an entire day of prayer.I’m glad I didn’t judge myself. I’m starting to see that my Etsy shop is not just a silly hobby but also a very enjoyable way to focus intensely on all that is good, quirky, and beautiful in the world—thus empowering it while robbing the darkness of its energy.

Practicing self-acceptance sounds like a monumental task at first until you bring yourself into the moment. Right here and now, you can make a choice to accept yourself without criticism. If you’re tired, rest. If you’re upset, it’s OK. You don’t want to stay there, but you can acknowledge your feelings, find a healthy way to burn them off, and thus move forward. If you’re sad, you need comfort.

The angels always tell us to reach for the next best feeling thought, or thing, and this is the wisdom they share to help us find our way out of the denser spaces. However, they never make us wrong for our denser feelings. They remind us to accept ourselves as we are.

There are only a small percentage of people on earth who model real unconditional self-love and self-acceptance. Most have learned otherwise. Nonetheless, one kind choice after the next, we start to embrace this reality and bring positive change in our lives.

Here are a few pointers to help you practice self-acceptance and avoid self-criticism.

1.  Catch your self-criticism and counteract them with better

I went through a phase where every time I criticized myself, the angels would tell me to go to the mirror, look in my own eyes with love, and apologize to myself! They later suggested that every time I caught myself in self-criticism, I could pause and admit three good things about myself.

For a while, I felt I was doing this countless times a day, but slowly, it became easier and more natural to tell myself kinder stories about myself and to accept myself as is. It has brought greater grace into my life in so many ways.

You can start to catch yourself when you’re not talking sweetly about yourself and flip the energy. Tell yourself three things you admire about yourself! They can be grand or small. The idea is to change the vibration.

2. Acknowledge your goodness

Start to pay attention so you can catch yourself in the act of doing things right. Acknowledge yourself. Compliment yourself, Admire the tiniest thing you did well, and suddenly, your energy will start turning in a better direction.

Several months ago, I felt overwhelmed. I was having email troubles, trying to figure out who got my responses and who didn’t. A family member was having huge medical issues. I had a to-do list that was having babies and a want-to-do list even longer. I started to criticize myself for not having a clearer direction on what to do first. I knew better. I sat with the angels and asked for advice. Instead of telling me what task to do first, they gave me homework:

“For the next hour, admire everything you do right. Celebrate every tiny accomplishment.”

I played along but had no idea that “everything” meant “everything”! I went to unstack the dishwasher and heard them in my head, “You put that silverware back in the drawer with so much love.” I laughed. OK, that was an accomplishment and something I did right. I played along. I made myself some breakfast. “Look at how much love you put into those eggs and how grateful you were for the garden veggies.” True story, but I never would have thought to celebrate such a small, regular thing.  Nonetheless, I could feel my vibe rising. I went to wash out the coffee cup. “Look how kindly you washed and dried and admire that cup! So much love!”

I was laughing by this time. Yes, if you count the ridiculously small things, I did accomplish a lot and did it with love. Suddenly, instead of feeling overwhelmed, I felt like I was on a productive roll. They tricked me into self-acknowledgment, self-acceptance, and a vibe of accomplishment! I put the silverware away with love! I cooked my breakfast with love! I loved my coffee cup! I was laughing but saw their point. I was putting love into life, and that is an accomplishment.

Without even realizing how much I had shifted internally, I went to the phone and called my loved one. Next, I was inspired to look online for answers to my email problem. I wandered out to the garden and spent an hour tending to my veggies. The overwhelm had disappeared, and I was once again in a flow… all due to accepting and acknowledging my own goodness and “accomplishment,” no matter how small.

Never underestimate the power of self-acknowledgment. It may seem silly, but it does wonders for your energy field!

3. When Someone is unkind, be kind to yourself.

When someone is not kind to you, at the earliest possible time, do something kind for yourself. There’s no need to argue with an unkind person, no need to justify your goodness to them, no need to prove a thing. Get away as soon as possible and reverse the vibe by being good to yourself.

Don’t wait for others to get your goodness.

What matters more is that you get your goodness, you acknowledge your need for love, and you give yourself permission to do something about it.

It is a new way of thinking to give ourselves permission to “be as little children” and love ourselves as is, celebrate our tiniest accomplishments, and keep our counsel, but we can. And, as the saying goes, it is then that we “enter the kingdom of heaven” right here, right now, while on the earth.