“Self-acceptance is my refusal to be in an adversarial relationship with myself.”
– Nathaniel Branden
Self-respect is the starting point on the path to self-acceptance.
It means acknowledging our worth, values, and true nature. It means accepting ourselves for who we are.
It is about being the type of person you really want to be without minding what people say about you. It means having the strength to stand up for who you are and talk about the things that bother and hurt you.
And when you eventually get to that stage, you become conscious of who you are.
So begins the process of transformation.
You start seeing the previously blurred out things in life with a clear vision, and now you can finally take matters in your own hands.
Here is a list of 20 things you have started doing because of your newly-gained self-respect:
1. You have started putting yourself (not in a selfish way) because no one else will take care of yourself if you don’t.
2. You have stopped accepting meaningless apologies from people who do not back their words with actions.
3. You have now realized that you are not responsible for solving other people’s problems. Sticking your nose in other people’s business may backfire in an ugly way.
4. No more quietly letting others drain your energy while complaining about their life that somehow never changes. Because, unlike them, you have decided to take life into your own hands.
5. Blocking all the toxic people from your life that inflicted pain on you for a long period of time. No good ever comes from giving second chances to those who take advantage of your good nature.
6. No longer justifying all the things you do to others. No more having to explain yourself to people about why you date someone or why you’ve changed your job.
7. Answering messages when you feel like it. It is natural to need space for yourself sometimes.
8. Going home or not going out when you feel like it. You should not have to live your life according to ignorant social norms.
9. You have understood that the expectations of others should not be holding you back from achieving the things you want to. You owe them nothing. Each of us has a special combination of virtues and ideas, so it’s natural for us to have differing opinions.
10. Accepting change with open arms without fear. No matter how much we may resist it, change is an inevitable part of life.
11. No more exposing your private life and intimacy on social media, because your likes and comment section will never be a depiction of your true life.
12. No more giving attention to negative people. You’ll never benefit from forcing things that are not real.
13. Giving up the harmful habits of drinking and taking drugs whenever you feel down.
14. No longer caring whether others think you’re cool or not. What they think of you doesn’t concern you – it concerns them.
15. Never again having to feel bad for saying no when this is how you truly feel.
16. You have acknowledged that no self-respecting person will tolerate your fits of anger. No more exploding at people who don’t deserve this kind of stress.
17. No more wasting time trying to convince others to like you if that requires you to change who you are.
18. Taking full and decisive responsibility for your life and your actions. The days of carelessly sitting and waiting for things to sort themselves out are over.
19. No more allowing yourself to be a helpless victim or to play one.
20. No more putting the people who use you before yourself.
Can you think of any other points we may have missed here? Let us know by joining the conversation in the comments and please share this article if you enjoyed the read.
