Self Acceptance...?

Question

Sometimes we accept others to spend the rest of our lives with, but we never get to accept our own selves. Do you accept your / self, for good and bad, until death do you apart? What makes it so hard to look WITHIN? What makes it so hard to ENJOY yourself?

Thanks for your comments!

Answer 1

George Bernard Shaw said "when we learn something it always feels as though we've lost something". People who never accept themselves are stuck because they are afraid to know themselves, fearing they might be impelled to confront what they will find odious or to change - both which is a little death. But that means they must always tread carefully to avoid the "snakes" - and that makes it difficult to really enjoy anything at all freely, especially one's self. Poor sods! This also means that many people wrap themselves up in a doctrinaire religion, or look for others to spend their lives with as "props" to lean on or comfort blankets, rather than relate directly to reality, or real people (as distinct from projected child fantasies or wish-figures). Which is why so often couples feel mutually let down as realities become unavoidable. We can only relate to "other" when we can truly relate to ourselves. Only exploring what I call "the wilderness within" can do that, kill the bogey-men, and remove the fear - but it is a journey once begun that never ends. What terror! What fun! The trick isn't tolerance or acceptance - it is to embrace, accepting uncertainty and change.

Answer 2

I think we would have to accept ourselves and truly love ourselves, before we could even think of accepting a life with someone, if we wanted it to be successful.

I think it makes it so hard to look within, because we will always have quirks and events in the past that we are not proud of, that we fear others will judge us for.

I have accepted who I am regardless. I know I can't change a lot of things about me, but the ones I can, I work on and continue to grow. I have gotten to a point where I realize, if someone has a problem with something about me, they will either have to accept it or move on.

I am not sure I understand the enjoying yourself part....in a relationship if you can't enjoy yourself, there may be more of a problem than accepting yourself....

In life, I make a point to enjoy myself everyday. Even cursing at the lawnmower this morning, I made a point to laugh at myself and how stupid I was being.....I am easily entertained, what can I say.

Answer 3

To accept oneself; one must realize that with the sweet, comes the sour. If I'm not willing to see my faults, alone, then usually they come back to bite me in the ***. It is not hard to look within once you begin doing it. For me, finding inner peace is still an ongoing project which will most likely never end. I think that if you spend enough time alone at points during the day or week to get to know yourself, you will experience this as well. Enjoying yourself means accepting life and you, the way you are; changing what you can and accepting what you cannot change.

Answer 4

I think the best solution is to not expect others to spend their lives with you, I would recommend that you become your own best friend first and foremost. I went through a really rough time a few years ago, and the truth of the matter is that no one that I expected to be there for me was.... You have to look within and learn to be comfortable in your own skin, because no matter how long you may know someone, you never truly know them until you go through something, then and only then do you realize just how alone you really are....
Have fun with being who you are, even when others aren't around, invest in you, and again be your own best friend...

Answer 5

i think we often, if we try, come to self acceptance threw the years, and yes it seems the hardest of all to do, perhaps its because we must look deep within, analyze ourselves, find acceptance, but also look at what we need to improve, take ultimate responsibility for that which we must, and see that some things we have no control over nor are we responsible for, so to me its more the self acceptance, its life acceptance, which both can be scary, yet calming and empowering, once you work threw it

Answer 6

very well-composed question!
Speaking for myself, i really LOVE myself. lol, who else will?

Seriously, I am contented to look at myself within. It is the matter of other's acceptance of myself that I am worried about. Most of the times, one wants to be needed, appreciated, and loved. If these are not manifested, then we succumb to feelings of insecurities. It is mostly chain reaction of how others react to our actions positive or not that we try to scrutinize.

Answer 7

It is only when we address our shared fears that accepting the self becomes possible. The fear of rejection. The fear of abandonment. The fear of being alone. The fear of boredom.

Some people like me. Some people don't. I'm okay with both.
Some people love me. Some people hate me. I'm okay with both.
Some times I'm alone. Some times I'm with others. I'm okay with both.

And so on...

Answer 8

Wow very profound. I accept my husband and love him and all his flaws and yet I beat myself up over the smallest things. I guess we are our own worst enemies.

Answer 9

Well, i have to accept myself .I wish i was a genius but i am not,i wish i was very beautiful,i am not...

Well,it is me somehow..I am at least an ordinary human .I like myself,i can struggle and hope for what i want for a long time,i can have taste from every moment(at least i try)so ...

Thanks God

Answer 10

I enjoy myself all the time