Do you truly accept yourself?

Before you jump in with your answers, just... think about this for a second—do you actually accept yourself, like, TOTALLY, just the way you are?

If you do—how did you actually pull that off?

If you don't—what’s the hold-up? What's stopping you?

Out of everyone I've ever worked with, I think I only had one coworker who truly accepted herself—or at least, that was the vibe she gave off. She wasn't some bombshell or someone constantly glued to a makeup mirror, but people just gravitated toward her—guys, girls, whoever—because she just "radiated" confidence. She was just a totally cool woman, really easy to get along with too.

I've been thinking about her for years. My best friend was actually the first one to point out how much she embraced herself, but I didn't even think about it at the time—I just knew she was awesome.

She accepted everyone else exactly as they were, including her husband, who—let's be real—had his fair share of wandering eyes. But she just knew it was nothing more than him being restless; it never caused any drama because she had much bigger things to worry about, and she knew deep down it didn't actually mean anything to him.

She accepted me, she accepted others, she accepted herself... we all just felt good when we were around her. She was magnetic.

It got me thinking—because personally, I don't accept myself, and honestly, I never have. I'm pretty sure it definitely stems from my childhood. Maybe her childhood was just... better?

Now that you've read this, take a beat and answer—do you fully accept yourself? And how does that actually show up in your life?

I find myself unable to fully embrace who I am—nor can I truly come to terms with my current circumstances—though, of course, the two are inextricably linked.

Self-complacency is a slow march toward the grave.

So where does all this whining lead?

Hopefully straight into some good luck and a damn good time—plus getting to hang out with someone like that.

I’m all for it,🙂 but I sure as hell don't agree with the rest of the world... or most people out there.

Terry Newman7 said:So where does all this whining lead?

Hopefully straight into some good luck and a damn good time—plus getting to hang out with someone like that.

I think you misunderstood me—or rather, I didn't express myself very clearly.

Of course we ought to strive to be more positive and content, but there has to be a legitimate reason behind it.
But one should always question why we feel satisfied or upbeat in the first place, because there are plenty of
people out there who settle for incredibly cheap thrills.

What I was trying to get at is that a sense of pure self-satisfaction doesn't exactly force us
to reflect or change the things about ourselves that aren't working.

In fact, even a bit of discontentment can be a powerful catalyst for growth.

goldengull28 said:I’m all for it,🙂 but I sure as hell don't agree with the rest of the world... or most people out there.

It’s just a textbook case of self-indulgence—the kind that eventually leaves you stranded when the chips are down.

Or am I just being overly cynical here?

Only fools find happiness easy.
I haven't quite made peace with myself yet.
My goal is to dismantle my own laziness, this creeping apathy, the needless irritability, my stubbornness, and those reflexive biases. I want to shed the excess emotions, the wavering willpower, and the lack of physical coordination. I’m trying to bridge that gap between my current self and a higher state of awareness, all to better align with the fundamental laws of existence...

And please, don't go fearing perfection... you're never actually going to reach it anyway.

Larry Lewis said:It’s just a textbook case of self-indulgence—the kind that eventually leaves you stranded when the chips are down.

Or am I just being overly cynical here?

Look, it’s not even about "not accepting myself." It’s more that I can’t wrap my head around accepting this absolute circus of a world... a world overflowing with idiots, creeps, scammers, and thieves who act like they own the place, pushing this lifestyle on everyone else like it's some kind of holy grail we all need to follow.
And honestly? You're probably right. This mindset might lead me straight into a ditch eventually, but I refuse to be mentally unstable when I wasn't born that way...
I'm not saying every single person out there is unhinged—there are definitely some good souls left—but let's face it, the vast majority of people are completely messed up.

goldengull28 said:Look, it’s not even about "not accepting myself." It’s more that I can’t wrap my head around accepting this absolute circus of a world... a world overflowing with idiots, creeps, scammers, and thieves who act like they own the place, pushing this lifestyle on everyone else like it's some kind of holy grail we all need to follow.
And honestly? You're probably right. This mindset might lead me straight into a ditch eventually, but I refuse to be mentally unstable when I wasn't born that way...
I'm not saying every single person out there is unhinged—there are definitely some good souls left—but let's face it, the vast majority of people are completely messed up.

Acceptance isn't the same thing as approval.

If a person actually accepts that they have a condition—like I do—they've essentially taken
one massive step forward, because if there's even a shred of sanity left in their head, they might actually start treating the illness.

Who actually manufactures bad people?
Family, religion, society.
Cruel characters tend to be forged in the fires of those specific environments...

Then again, some folks seem born to be nothing more than servants to others.

Larry Lewis said:Acceptance isn't the same thing as approval.

If a person actually accepts that they have a condition—like I do—they've essentially taken
one massive step forward, because if there's even a shred of sanity left in their head, they might actually start treating the illness.

Look, I neither accept nor approve of them. I just can't wrap my head around it. I can accept a thief if he admits he's a thief, acknowledges it's wrong, and tries to stop being one—that's fine. But a thief who parades his thievery around like it's totally normal and brags about it instead of just shutting up and fixing himself? Yeah, I'm not buying that.

Schizophrenia is a disease—a nasty one, sure—but it's something you can live with relatively normally, or you don't have to. It's an illness. Nobody chooses this crap... it just happens.
If someone's schizophrenia triggers pedophilia or whatever else, fine, that's tragic. But for God's sake, doing something wrong like that and then claiming it's okay without trying to change? Saying it's perfectly fine when it isn't? That's just 🙏.

Accepting who I am means owning all my flaws—those messy, unfinished parts of me that are practically screaming for change—but learning to love myself exactly as I am, incomplete and small as that may feel.
I’ve only just started to wrap my head around this, but I'm finally getting there.

goldengull28 said:Look, I neither accept nor approve of them. I just can't wrap my head around it. I can accept a thief if he admits he's a thief, acknowledges it's wrong, and tries to stop being one—that's fine. But a thief who parades his thievery around like it's totally normal and brags about it instead of just shutting up and fixing himself? Yeah, I'm not buying that.

Schizophrenia is a disease—a nasty one, sure—but it's something you can live with relatively normally, or you don't have to. It's an illness. Nobody chooses this crap... it just happens.
If someone's schizophrenia triggers pedophilia or whatever else, fine, that's tragic. But for God's sake, doing something wrong like that and then claiming it's okay without trying to change? Saying it's perfectly fine when it isn't? That's just 🙏.

I personally know quite a few people living with schizophrenia, and not a single one of them is a pedophile. Honestly, I have no idea
where you're drawing this connection between schizophrenia and pedophilia. 😕

Actually, you didn't really make a concrete point in the first half of your post, so there isn't much for me to
respond to, but it did remind me of this one time I was riding the subway in New York when traffic
came to a dead halt. A whole motorcade of government SUVs and police cruisers were tearing down the street, and in that exact moment,
this little kid sitting near me just yelled out, "Thieves!" and the entire subway car burst into laughter. 🙂

I’d probably take him out for some hot cocoa... 😁

goldengull28 said:I’d probably take him out for some hot cocoa... 😁

Or maybe his parents, his grandparents...? 😉

Larry Lewis said:Or maybe his parents, his grandparents...? 😉

Look, they’d actually get a bit of a break, which wouldn't hurt. The only thing I can't stand is if the kid is a total brat... I honestly can't deal with kids like that.

Apparently, someone couldn't handle what the author was putting down, so she got banned 🤔

Anyway, let me be crystal clear on this: I accept myself exactly as I am. I mean, I’m stuck with myself for the rest of my life—it's not like I can swap myself out for a newer model—so why would I waste my precious time being miserable? Besides, there is already way too much negativity and dissatisfaction swirling around us in the world today; honestly, I'm doing just fine... actually, scratch that, I'm pretty damn perfect 🙂

No, I’m not buying it. I’m fully aware of my own flaws, and honestly, I am working on them. Maybe I won't fix everything perfectly—at some point, you have to admit certain things are just baked into your character and temperament—but I can certainly take the edge off. I’ll keep pushing until I hit a wall; if I eventually realize I can't fight my own nature, I’ll probably just have to accept myself as 🤷
.

If I actually liked who I was, I probably wouldn't be sitting here in therapy trying to force it to happen.🕺
It’s more about how I can't stand my own feelings—the bad moods, the feeling of failing at things, the imperfections, certain parts of my sexuality, and just all that stuff... it's endless.
I honestly don't know if I'll ever get to a place where I truly accept and love myself—I mean, I was never really taught how to do that in the first place... we'll see...

Accepting yourself—in my book—doesn't mean you just ignore your flaws... or stay stagnant

It basically just means embracing your imperfect self and choosing to love who you are, both now and tomorrow