Acceptance, yep I said it, yes I did. Sounds too darn simple. I get it. I can hear you now saying, “Ok, I accept it, now what – the shiznick still ain’t changed”. Understood.

One of the chief reasons for being dysregulated (fancy way of saying stressed, anxious, angry, quick triggered etc.) is that we do NOT accept whatever situation in life that we do not like or want. But you may be thinking, “nah, I don’t want to accept the fact that my marriage is in shambles because she cheated on me” Or that “I don’t want to accept that my child is gay, or that I lost my job due to layoffs, or my boyfriend and I broke up and she is now dating another woman” etc etc. you get the drift.

Examples of Acceptance

These are situations that most of us don’t want to experience. We try to push the experience away like a 2 year old does with green peas. But those thoughts have a way of sticking around and clinging to inside of our mind, cluttering up the joint. Fighting the thoughts off creates a negative or distressing internal experience. One elixir is to accept the situation. Acceptance does not mean that one gives up in any kind of way. Acceptance essentially equates to acknowledgment. That we acknowledge the event happened by stop trying to reject what occurred. Some examples to say are:

• I accept my boyfriend is now dating another woman. Good for them. I am (or in the process of) moving on with my life.
• I (acknowledge and) accept I am not as popular as Teddy, but I have my strengths and select group of friends.
• I now choose to accept that my spouse will likely never change being grumpy in the mornings.

Benefits of Acceptance

Acceptance provides a pathway for us to mitigate judgment – especially of ourselves. This alone can provide more internal peace can allow us to stay in a more emotionally upright posture. Acceptance can also allow us to begin to see our role in a situation. “I accept that my flirting with other women cost me my marriage”. By accepting our part, allows us to make any necessary edits in our own thoughts and behavior for the next time we face that situation.

Acceptance in a way is the other Vitamin A!