7 Self-Acceptance Tips You Should Embrace This Year

The road to confidence begins with self-acceptance. It’s not even far-fetched to say it’s the first step towards all the things you aspire to have – self-love, self-improvement, self-esteem. They’re all connected to this single thread of appreciating yourself.

The American Psychological Association defines self-acceptance as “a relatively objective sense of recognition of one’s abilities and achievements and limitations.” Simply put, it’s not just taking pride in the things you’re good at, but also realizing your weakness and humbling yourself enough to improve upon them. According to the APA, it is vital in achieving mental health.

Reversing a lifetime of denial or insecurity can’t be done instantly. However, the proverbial road can start small and slow. Here are the first steps you can take towards accepting yourself.

This isn’t to say you should congratulate yourself for tying your shoelace or scoring a great deal on a handbag (although that does sound fun). Any attempt at a behavioral change, such as self-acceptance, is a difficult process. So, if one day – even if it’s just one day – you realize that your frizzy hair adds to your character or your freckles make you unique, then pat yourself on the back. You’ll eventually get more of those kinds of days.

You must understand that just because you acknowledge your supposed flaws does not mean you’ll be complacent about them. For example, you find out that you are impatient. Self-acceptance doesn’t entail you’re going to shrug it off and let your temper be other people’s problem. Ironically, acceptance means you now have a measure of how you can be better.

Do you think you’re pushy? That’s not necessarily a drawback. According to a 2004 Journal of Applied Psychology study, women in male-dominated fields are seen as unsociable or difficult to work with. Women in finance or engineering, for example, have needed to operate more aggressively to be heard. A separate study published by Nature in 2018 shows that women in male-dominated professions find it harder to achieve work-life balance thanks to constant professional pressure.

The world is no longer black and white. Set your perceived strengths and weaknesses against personal context. Before changing anything, see if those qualities work to your advantage.

Accepting losses means accepting that you can’t control everything. You realize which things are within your power and which aren’t. Use these failures as a learning experience that can trigger your self-improvement.

You may be able to forgive others, but can you forgive yourself? Can you stop criticizing yourself for giving your son extra screen time so you can finish a deadline? Can you stop banging your head on the wall for accidentally using the bunny ears filter during your Zoom call? Can you give yourself a pass because you’re human?

Now that you know your strengths and weaknesses and how you want to improve on them, it’s time to make a plan. Come up with practical ways on how you want to change. If you want to lengthen your patience, perhaps you can practice daily meditation or count to 10 before reacting. If you want to speak up more at work, make it a point to say at least one thing at every meeting. These deeds can become habits if you do them often enough.

You’re more likely to embrace your strengths and weaknesses when you love yourself. Taking care of yourself even in the physical sense can do wonders for your self-esteem. Soak in a tub now and then. Reward yourself with Dove Relaxing Lavender Body Wash. It has lavender and rosemary extract to soothe your senses and leave your skin feeling silky and soft.

You can also give your tresses some love with TRESemmé Keratin Smooth KERA10 Smoothing Mask. As you continue to stay indoors, it’s the closest thing to a beauty day at a salon. It offers 10 salon benefits for your hair, including shine, strength, anti-frizz, and fragrance. Even something as simple as slathering on a deodorant like Rexona Women Powder Dry Roll-on Antiperspirant Deodorant can be a treat. It makes you feel fresh and confident that you won’t experience embarrassing odor or sweat stains. It also comes in a handy deo lotion sachet.

Self-acceptance brings you closer to the best person you can be. Are you excited to find out who that is? Then follow these tips!