5 Steps to Self-Acceptance

Accepting yourself for who you are can take bravery and deep understanding. Once we recognise who we are, and what got us to this point, we can start to acknowledge the patterns and behaviours that we might not like about ourselves and leave room for forgiveness. Following these 5 steps will help you feel a sense of belonging and boost your self-confidence to reach self-fulfilment.

1. Discover your identity

A powerful factor in our mental and emotional wellbeing is having a strong sense of identity . Getting in touch with yourself might take some reflection on your position in the world, what you care about, and what you stand for in society.

Be conscious of your emotional reactions and delve deeper into why you might be having that response. Give yourself permission to feel strongly about something and recognise where that passion came from.

We are all individuals with different core values, so surrounding yourself with literature, tv and social settings that nurture those values can help you feel firm within your identity.

 

2. Do things for your inner child

When we think about the purest forms of happiness, they are often found in childhood experience. When was the last time you allowed yourself to do something just for fun and not with any other intention? 

Try to re-discover what made you feel safe and held as a child and create paths that reconnect you to that feeling. It might be horse riding, ballet classes, wearing more colours, praising yourself with the treat you wanted, or even just spending time with friends in a wholesome environment.

Set yourself time to feel the freedom of connecting with your inner child and push the mental load of adult responsibility aside for a little while.

 

3. Know your boundaries and set them

Boundary setting is crucial for self-acceptance, and it takes rewired thinking to accomplish it. Recognising our past and reflecting on previous decisions can help us to set boundaries that prevent us getting into the same situations again and again.

Do you find yourself getting into friendships and relationships that feel one sided? Is it because you’re meeting everyone else’s needs but not communicating your own? It’s easy to fall into this trap, especially when we have low self-esteem and crave acceptance from others.

When we set firm boundaries and practice self-love, the need to feel accceepted isn’t at our forefront anymore, it just comes naturally.

 

4. Stop avoiding your emotions

You are allowed to react with emotion, it is a normal human function. Feeling sad or angry is healthy, as long as you know how to channel it in a non-harmful way.

Often, we assume that having these very normal reactions are signs that we aren’t doing so well, in actuality they reflect our ability to experience sympathy and compassion.

Having a ‘big cry’ is scientifically proven to ease emotional pain and give you a sense of calm afterwards. The important thing is that you practice self-care and can communicate with others about how you are feeling so that you are not harming people in the process.

This is especially important when you are feeling anger, it is sometimes best to say that you need your own space to release the emotion through an activity, music, journaling or even some meditation. Find ways of channelling your emotions that are productive and safe.

 

5. Breath-work and meditation

Inner healing helps us to connect with ourselves and encourages self-acceptance. Taking just 10 minutes out of your day to meditate can help you to feel more present and gives you a greater sense of empathy and compassion not only to yourself but others around you.

Breath-work can increase focus, productivity and clarity which enhances your resilience to stress and anxiety. Get in touch with Claire at Inspire you if you are curious about breath work and are ready for self-development and acceptance.