Thriving Scholar — Executive Coaching & Leadership

Acceptance
A Habit That Will Change Your Life

Jaineel Mistry

As soon as I saw the video I felt a huge rush of guilt and shame. My heart started beating faster and my head felt hot.

My wife had sent me an Instagram video sharing the harmful effects of 0-5 year olds watching a phone screen which evoked a rush of emotions within me. I knew phones aren’t good for a child, however, sometimes, it’s just practical.

As someone who can be hard on himself, in that moment, I had to practice a habit that has constantly allowed me to go from stress and inner conflict to peace, harmony, and alignment.

Acceptance.

◆Accepting I’m still learning as a parent

◆Accepting and allowing my feelings of guilt and shame to flow through me

◆Accepting that there is no right and wrong decisions with parenting

Over the next 4 minutes, I’m going to share the power of practicing acceptance in your daily life.

I share what acceptance is, the importance of it, and practical ways you can practice it from today.

Without acceptance, our life becomes one of friction.

The problem is that most of us find ourselves fighting against what is. We fight against the reality that we are up against or the emotions we experience. It keep us stuck and out of the natural flow of life’s course.

Acceptance is your gateway to freedom.

What is acceptance?

The first time I came across the term “acceptance” I viewed it as “settling for your current circumstances”.

I then found out it’s the opposite. Acceptance is more of an internal practice to connect with your true essence, your Higher Self, your inner being.

In her book, Radical Acceptance, clinical psychologist Tara Brach shares that there are two parts of acceptance:

◆First is seeing clearly

◆Holding our experience with compassion

Professor David Hawkins in his book Letting Go shares that “in acceptance, we experience the joy of harmony, we feel as though events are flowing, we feel secure, and we can be of service to others without a feeling of self-sacrifice”.

Acceptance involves fully embracing our present moment experience with an open heart. It’s about acknowledging and accepting our thoughts, emotions, and circumstances without resistance or judgement.

With certain forms of acceptance, this really can take a high level of self-awareness and courage, particularly something like:

◆Accepting death of a loved one as we grief

◆Accepting your current situation isn’t where you want it be

◆Accepting the emotions you feel as you experience a situation

There’s things you can’t control in lifenotaccepting that will keep you miserable. There’s things you can control in life, accepting that, you’re in a place of power create change.

Acceptance is the process of being one with what is. One with the flow of life.

The opposite of acceptance is resistance. Resisting life. Resisting our thoughts, emotions, or situation. This creates stress, inner conflict, and overtime, the science continues to show how this is the case of many diseases.

What’s the benefit of acceptance?

We’ve all been in situations where we have resisted life. Where would things be for you if you continued to resist life? If you continued to complain, blame, and fight against life as it currently is for you? What could be possible if you let go and allowed life to flow through you?

Benefits of acceptance:

◆Emotional Freedom: By accepting our reality, including our imperfections and difficult emotions, we free ourselves from the internal struggle. By accepting our emotions and allowing ourselves to fully experience them without suppression leads to emotional release. This process, is the process of “letting go,” a process to dissolve negative emotions and reduces their hold on us.

◆Healing and Transformation: When we don’t accept a situation, we remain stuck there and are unable to allow a greater reality to come forth. Acceptance is the first step toward transforming your life. By acknowledging your pain and suffering either in the past or currently, you can begin to work through it rather than being stuck in a cycle of denial and avoidance. Creating a future from a place of peace will be better than creation it from a place to inner turmoil

◆Moving on from the past and creating your future – Keeping your attention and energy in the past will keep you stuck there. There is nothing you can change about your past or past decisions but you can make a choice in this moment, to accept your current circumstances as are and create your future from here.

Our power to create our future lies in the wisdom of accepting our past, being grateful for the journey and appreciating who we have become in the process. Accepting your past may mean forgiving others and most importantly, yourself.

What we don’t accept, we resist. What we resist amplifies our suffering.

5 was to integrate the habit of acceptance in your life

Ultimately, acceptance is a process of letting go.

Letting go of:

◆Attachment of our desire and how we wanted our current reality to be

◆Judgements about ourselves and others

◆Attachment to emotions and feelings

◆Self-Compassion: Be kind and gentle with yourselves as you navigate your emotions and experiences is crucial. Self-compassion helps us to accept our flaws and mistakes without harsh self-criticism

◆Mindfulness: Practicing mindfulness allows us to be present with our experiences without judgment. By observing our thoughts and feelings as they arise, we can develop a non-reactive awareness that fosters acceptance.

◆Vulnerability: Acceptance requires us to be vulnerable and open to our experiences. This means letting go of the need to control or avoid uncomfortable emotions. Embracing vulnerability allows us to connect more deeply with ourselves and others.

◆Flow with current reality: Recognise when you are resisting reality and consciously choose to let go. Choose to trust life is working for you. By releasing resistance, we can flow more easily with life’s challenges. If not, you’ll always be fighting with the flow of life.

◆Appreciation: Practicing appreciation helps shift our focus from what is lacking to what is present and positive in our lives. I could appreciate that Instagram reel for reminding me and educating me. By appreciating the good, we can more easily accept the less favourable aspects of our experiences to then be in a better state to create a powerful future whilst enjoying the present.

Our next 60 Minute Self-Mastery Workshop:

◆Our next workshop is on Wednesday 19th June 7:30-8:30pm BST. Put it in your calendar!

◆Want to be surrounded by other growth minded leaders and be in a powerful space of transformation? Join us.

◆Topic: Finding and activating your Zone of Genius

1:1 Coaching

I currently have 3 x 1:1 coaching slots available. If you’d like to explore what that may look like – just reply to this email and I’ll send you a few questions to answer.

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Want me to speak at your next event? Drop me an email and tell me more about it and we can explore if it’s a good fit.

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AcceptanceA Habit That Will Change Your Life