Self-acceptance means acknowledging that you are as you are and being comfort-
able with it. It doesn’t necessarily mean likingevery aspect of yourself.
Some attributes can’t be changed, and you may as well accept them right now.
Take your age. You can disguise it, lie about it, try to hide it, but you can’t change
it. Similarly, you can do little about your gender (without going to drastic
lengths), your race, height, eye colour etc. You also have little chance of trans-
forming the way the world works, society in general and other people. But you
canfind a way of making the best of yourself, by:
■ becoming better informed
■ acquiring new skills
■ changing unwanted habits
■ handling relationships and problems more effectively.
But bear in mind, self-acceptance does not mean giving up on yourself. If some dis-
liked aspect of yourself is important and can be changed, do something about it.
There’s no point in feeling bad about something you can change, just as there’s
no point in feeling bad about something you can’t!