7 Rules of Self-Acceptance
How to be *more you* through the power of intuition, self-belief, and compassion.
Rule 1 of self-acceptance: Trust your intuition.
You’ve been doubting the power of your intuition for far too long. Intuition is like magic. It’s the loving, knowing voice inside you that acts as your roadmap for life. Not only does it know what’s best for you, it also knows what’s not good for you. If you listen to it closely, your intuition will always tell you which way you should go.
Deep down, you’ve always known what you want and need. Training your brain to slow down and listen is the hard part. To trust yourself is to accept yourself as you are. Listening to your intuition is your superpower.
Rule 2 of self-acceptance: Believe in your own worth.
This is something the world may have tricked you into disregarding long ago. You may have been taught to think that you need to adjust yourself in order to be loved and accepted. Maybe you once believed that everything about you needed improvement— your looks, your words, your beliefs, your ways of being. But those beliefs are both incorrect and toxic.
If there’s one thing you remember from these words, let it be this: you are already perfect just the way you are. You are not required to do anything except love and believe in yourself fully. This is how real self-acceptance begins. You are deserving of every good thing under the sun.
Rule 3 of self-acceptance: Practice self-love.
If you do not love yourself, who will? This is your most important responsibility. Yes, loving yourself is a responsibility. I am asking you to do it— and do it well— every single day. You need to learn how to love yourself no matter the struggle life throws at you.
And how exactly do you begin? Slowly, gently, intentionally. The small moments matter most. Every morning, wake up and say out loud, “How can I better love myself today?” This may feel silly when you first try it out. But I promise, as with everything in life, the more you practice the easier loving yourself will become.
Rule 4 of self-acceptance: Listen to your talents.
Everyone is born with natural talent. Recognizing and feeding this talent is a form of self-acceptance. Unfortunately, many of us are taught to ignore our natural talents early in life to focus on more typical and standard endeavors— maybe your first love was painting but you convinced yourself to study medicine, or you feel most like yourself when playing the violin but haven’t picked up an instrument in years.
Whatever it is you love the most that calls out to your soul, listen to it. Give it your precious time and attention. Allow yourself to get lost in your own creativity. This is who you really are.
Rule 5 of self-acceptance: Prioritize your joy.
What makes you feel alive? What makes you feel complete? All of these things matter, no matter how small, silly, or simple they may seem. What you enjoy is an important part of your soul. Identify it, acknowledge it, chase it. Giving yourself what makes you feel good is not selfish. Rather, it’s fully healthy and natural.
The more joyful you are, the more joyful the world becomes. Allowing yourself to feel happy makes the world a more peaceful, complete place. Find your joy and keep it close to you always.
Rule 6 of self-acceptance: Forgive easily.
Holding grudges will make you hard and cold to the world. But what exactly is forgiveness? Well, it looks like compassion and feels like letting go. You will learn how to forgive easily once you fully understand that the rest of the world is no different from you— perfectly flawed, full of love, and worthy of respect.
Accept both yourself and others with unconditional forgiveness and support. This is the only way healing can truly begin.
Rule 7 of self-acceptance: Take yourself less seriously.
To take yourself seriously all the time is to live an exhausting, unfulfilling life. Self-acceptance means approaching yourself gently in all ways, all of the time. Did you mess up at work? It’s okay. Flunk a test at school? Tomorrow is a new day. The only thing that matters is the level of kindness in which you choose to give yourself on a daily basis.
What do you have to lose? What could fully accepting and loving yourself take away from you? The answer is nothing. You have everything to gain from the unconditional love and kindness that is inside you right now at this very moment, patiently waiting to emerge and transform every corner of your life. All you have to do is say yes.
