As we continue on this journey of Self-Acceptance, the Ladies of the MGS Sister Circle reviewed some of their responses to the first six ways that are suggested to work on accepting yourself. Some of their responses led to interesting discussions on the types of people that we choose to associate with, our need to hold on to past hurts and setting new intentions. Are we associating with people who are progressive and positive or do we hang with the gossips around the office water cooler? What about the people in our support system…family, friends, co-workers…no-one maybe! For us to begin practicing self-acceptance we need to begin looking at our environment and the positive energy that we are collecting. We also should work on releasing negative energy, starting with forgiving ourselves and letting go of past regrets. Why are you still holding on to the past? How does it serve you to stay stuck? How would you benefit from moving forward in your life? I challenge you to answer these questions.
Another suggestion is to set a new intention for your life: I will live a life of truth and honesty; I will reframe negative thoughts into positive thoughts; or I will always do my best. Finally the ladies had a great time on the 6th way to develop self-acceptance…”Shush Your Inner Critic”. We do this by using positive affirmations to quiet the negative voice in our minds that tell us that we’re not good enough, we will never be loved or we will never achieve anything in life. Affirmations such as “I am worthy”, “I am Loved” or “I Can Only Do As Much As I Am Able” help us to develop a willingness to hear positive things about ourselves.
To learn more about self-acceptance read this PsychCentral.com article on 12 Ways to Accept Yourself by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S. Stay tuned for Part III as we continue on this journey to self-acceptance.
The MGS Sister Circle meets every other Wednesday evening at 6:30pm. Call us at (754) 999-0410 for this month’s dates. Like MGS Counseling and Therapy Services on Facebook for information and updates on future gatherings, topics and guest speakers.
By-Shari W