Acceptance can be hard when you don’t feel like YOU!
Ok, so you’re really not a procrastinator, but there are times in your life where you do find yourself procrastinating. This is so much not like you that you find it very disturbing, which only causes you to procrastinate even more. You are fighting acceptance.
You normally feel sexy and loving and think of that as your nature yet for no reason whatsoever you feel a ‘disconnect’ so deep from your sexuality you may as well be writing your “to do” list.
You’ve got to get that client report out, help your kid with their college applications, listen to your husbands’ strategy for closing that really big sale and your mind just can’t process the information. Try as you might you can’t follow, you can’t tune in and this surprises and upsets you because you’re usually sharp as a tack.
You’ve volunteered to make the calls for the latest fund raising project that’s really near and dear to your heart. Normally this is like eating cake for you but this time you can’t push yourself to make one more call. Your energy is simply not there.
You wake up and it’s sunny and bright outside and all you want to do is roll over and go back to sleep. This isn’t a physical exhaustion so much as a “I just can’t face another day of ….., I just can’t.” Even your friends are concerned when they call and invite you for coffee for the third time and you have no interest and turn them down again.
Acceptance means understanding that there are times when we just…”Can’t”!
As many great teachers have said in their own words, “Just like the tides everything has an ebb and flow.” Click to tweet
This is something to accept and understand that no matter how much we fight against the tide we simply cannot turn it. We must accept the fact that there are times when we can and times when we just can’t. Fighting that truth especially while you’re going through it will only make it worse. There are times when we must accept what is happening and deal with things in another way. Times for acceptance instead of raging against ourselves for letting us down!
Chris Assaad in his article The Ebb & Flow of Life says:
The fact is that there is an ebb and flow to life. There are highs and lows. There is bitter and sweet. There are gray days and sunny days and it’s all part of the package. If it were peaches, sunshine and roses all the time we’d probably get bored pretty quickly.
http://thedailylove.com/the-ebb-flow-of-life/
When we desperately feel something is wrong with us, when we fight to bring ourselves back to the status, quo we often find things just get worse. This inner conflict causes stress, which limits the way we see the world and our place in it. It keeps us from seeing the opportunities for growth and the good which may be inherent in the very situation we are fighting. It is only through acceptance and surrender that we are able to get through it and yes, even find the good in what we perceive to be bad.
When I ask my good friend Dr. Lee Vickers “How are things going?” his normal response is “wonderful” and he really means it. Regardless of what I see him going through he maintains a certain acceptance of “what is” which keeps him in a positive and happy state. He always say’s “I’m just floating in the river”. His floating in the river means he accepts the twists and turns of life always knowing his purpose, yet also knowing that the twist and turns of life reveal more for him to experience. He does not look at these things as bad and therefore they aren’t.
Great Acceptance Quotes
As Shakespeare so famously said
“There is nothing either good or bad, only thinking makes it so.” - Shakespeare Click to tweet
Deepak Chopra says
“Our minds influence the key activity of the brain, which then influences everything; perception, cognition, thoughts and feelings, personal relationships; they’re all a projection of you”.
Acceptance of what is removes the label “Bad”
Clearly when we label something as “bad” our minds carry on and create more “bad” because that’s the way we’re judging whatever is happening. This is a simple Law of Attraction truth. When we accept ‘what is’ with the understanding that there is a natural ebb and flow to life and ask ourselves “what am I to learn from this?” we can stay neutral and allow the natural progression to take place. We float in the river and easily get off when we’ve gotten to our destination.
Acceptance of “what is” can require more than just faith. A little understanding of your body’s rhythms, nature’s cycles and the flow of life can go a long way to ease our suffering when we feel we’re just not fulfilling our own expectations.
Many of you may be thinking “Isn’t acceptance of something I don’t like a cop out? Could acceptance be another word for giving up?” I say NO. Accepting what is, is the only intelligent and even practical thing to do. It’s smart. This is not to say you give up on your overall goals and plans. This is not to say that you decide something that you find revolting is good. It’s simply accepting that whatever has been happening has happened. There is a tremendous freedom in that attitude and it frees up a lot of mental, emotional and spiritual energy. Fighting against what is, only makes it worse and siphons off your energy.
This may mean you have to find another way of living with what’s happening and that’s where dealing with your ego comes in. That’s the part of you that insists on control and wants to fight every step. The ego may insist on making things a particular way even when it’s obviously not. Can you see how this only adds to your stress and unhappiness? Can you see how this attitude just keeps you further and further from your goals and the ultimate peace we all must feel to really enjoy our lives?
Acceptance reveals opportunities
The wonderful part about accepting “what is”, is that your relationship with the issue has the space to change. When we’re not holding tightly to the way things ought to be, the way we’ve planned things to be, we are able to see the very real opportunities available to us. Opportunities and possibilities, that may not have come about should things not have changed.
Acceptance and letting go of our need to make things a particular way means we can be at peace. All the conflict and the tension leaves and we become more comfortable in our own skin. You need to get over yourself to accept!
This weeks’ radio guest Susan Mathis McQueen explains in easy to understand terms our body’s natural rhythms and cycles.
Listen to her learned understanding of your personal ebb and flow and get more comfortable with your body and learn to embrace acceptance in your life.
Radio show link:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/yourhappinessway/2015/01/16/the-key-to-your-body-cycles Guest Susan Mathis McQueen writer of 4 Seasons in 4 Weeks
Let me know what you think? I love reading your comments and I always reply!
Thank you for the advice. You are so insightful. You are so right about accepting what it is. It can be very difficult sometimes. But I can see how it is so important. I’m looking forward to the radio show with Susan.