Self Esteem Equals Self Acceptance
Have the courage to be yourself. We can choose to live fully, or to live within a framework of what is familiar and safe. If we choose the latter we will be limiting ourselves by our past experience. There is always risk involved in living fully, and thereby choosing to be more fully alive and joyful human beings, but it is the way that leads to ‘wholeness’. Doing so involves breaking down the bars of our own self-imposed cage and daring to be more fully us, with all that this entails. It means getting out of our comfort zone and embracing what is outside of our present realm of experience – but always within a framework of wisdom and balance. Experiencing new things, interacting with people outside of those who are known and familiar to us, reading books which challenge us and extend our thinking, exploring what was previously unknown, are all a part of this pathway.
Our life’s journey should involve ongoing growth and lead us towards reaching our potential. Those who choose to live fully will undoubtedly experience more depths and heights, but they will come to know what life is all about in a far fuller way. Ultimately they will also come to know, understand and accept themselves. The rewards of doing so are worth the risks involved.
There is an enormous stress in not feeling free to be ourselves. If we are constantly trying to conform to others’ expectation of us the pressure of doing so will eventually get to us. People become inwardly fragmented when they are continually trying to present the ‘right front’ to this group, or that person etc. In the end they can feel that they have lost their own identity. This has the effect of creating inner conflict and confusion. It takes a lot of energy to always endeavour to come across in an acceptable way, in addition to being a major source of stress. Ultimately we have to be ourselves, with all that this entails. It is the only way to sustain good mental health. Of course the onus is on us to be our “better” rather than our “baser” self, to function at top level rather than at bottom. The latter reflects emotional immaturity, irresponsibility and self-indulgence. The former, a journeying towards growth and wholeness.
