Allowing acceptance

Accept what is, and you have a place from which to start. Accept what is, and you are free from the need to fight against it. Accept what is, and you can begin to move forward. Accepting what is doesn’t mean it always must stay that way. It just means you’re acknowledging that the past cannot be changed. Accepting what is doesn’t mean you’re giving up on your goal or your dream. In fact, it puts you in the best position to begin living your dream. Your situation is not perfect, and indeed it may be extremely difficult. Yet as soon as you accept it fully, you can begin to see the value in it and to put that value to use.

The way to allow acceptance is by understanding that you are more than the mere conditions of your life. You are more than your bank account. You are more than your credit rating. You are more than your job title. You are more than your accomplishments. You are more than the car you drive or the house you live in or the grades on your report card. You are a special and unique person, not limited by your past disappointments or your present circumstances. Every circumstance in your life is something that you can accept with the confidence of knowing that it does not define you. You have the power to define who you are by the thoughts you think and the actions you take from this point forward. Yes, you are responsible for what you have done in the past and you are subject to the unavoidable consequences of your actions. That’s part of your reality. Yet even if you have created your own difficult circumstances as a result of poor judgment, those circumstances are merely things that you’re experiencing. They are apart from you and you have the power to make the very best of them whenever and however you choose to do so.

Isn’t it a contradiction to say that it’s necessary to accept your circumstances even though they do not define you? No, it’s not a contradiction at all. Rather, it’s a powerful strategy for successful living. It is a way to let the circumstances in your life empower you without allowing them to enslave you.

When you fight against your own reality, or ignore it, or run away from it, you only make things worse for yourself. But there is no need to fight against that reality because it is something that you can rise above. And having risen above it, you can transform that reality into whatever you want it to be.