Self acceptance

Acceptance, approval and assent, the three As that everyone desires to have. Everyone wishes to fit in, to be liked, to be “socially accepted”, and to fulfil this desire one puts up a façade to hide the true self and to appear to be the “cool” one. Though all this wishing to mingle with people and become a member of a group is not negative per se, for man is a social animal, but what makes it destructive is what a person does to achieve it. Ever so often, overwhelmed by the fear of being left out and alienated one way or the other, I am sure, most of us have come under the influence of peer pressure and despite against our wishes, we have acted upon the evil. We are so afraid of being left out that we stifle our voices and resort to conformity. But my dear fellows, I would want everyone to ask themselves this question: has stifling your own voice and resorting to conformity done any good to you? Did compliance give you respect in the eyes of your peers? I am afraid, the answer isn’t really positive. So why it is that even compliance or conformity doesn’t increase in the person being more liked or approved? The answer is simple: how can a person who doesn’t respect himself expect others to treat him well? When you conform to others or seek their approval, you do not regard your views and beliefs as important and that’s where the problem starts. One who doesn’t have the courage to stand up for what he believes can’t be expected to be of a good moral character. Respecting yourself doesn’t mean to be self-centred or arrogant. It simply means to honour or hold in esteem one’s own self; it means believing in yourself and knowing your value and not letting anyone cross the line. So my dear fellows, now it’s time you honoured yourself! Get up and dive into the sea of your soul and reach to the bottom where your true self is buried and pull it to the top. It is time to show the world who you truly are, now is the time to stop thinking about “what others would think”. Bernard M. Baruch once wisely said, “Those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.”