After going through a trying 2016, I was determined to make this year one of emotional and spiritual healing. I wanted to heal myself in places, which had been hurt and scarred by all the emotional abuse. Sometimes, when I try to put it in words, I feel that maybe I am unable to express myself eloquently and that is when some people would dismiss my experience. I am just thankful that I had friends who knew of the pain that I had gone through, people who could see and feel the distinct change in my personality because of that and those who stood by me all these while. Ultimately, the journey to recovery would be something I have to travel alone. Because only me, myself will be capable of self-acceptance.
Self-acceptance is the ability to accept ourselves for who we really are including all the undesirable and ugly bits. We may recognize our inadequacies and weaknesses but this does not mean that we accept them unconditionally. Only when we are fully aware of our true selves and being to embrace all that, then we can say that we have full unconditional self-acceptance of who we are. Robert Holden, a British psychologist, author, and broadcaster, who works in the field of positive psychology and well being once mentioned that happiness and self-acceptance go hand in hand. The more you practice self-acceptance, the less you reject yourself, and the more your life will flow in a positive direction.
And I want to work towards that direction, I want to be kinder to myself, to judge myself less and be happier. To be honest, it is not easy working on self-acceptance and self-love in a social media centered world. Most of us have lives that revolve around social media platforms and sometimes we find ourselves subconsciously comparing our lives with that of friends or even strangers. It is even more difficult when we try to love the bits about ourselves which society has skewed our perception of what is acceptable.
So I try to work around it by avoiding social media for short periods of time. Due to the previous unpleasant episode, I acknowledge that my value does not decrease based on someone's inability to see its worth. I practice self-kindness and am less critical of myself. I am also grateful for a wonderful support system made up of family and friends who are helping me rebuild my confidence. I am sure in time to come, I will be able to cultivate self-acceptance and be my own number one fan.