Learning to Live Week 2: Accepting the Life You Create

Last week, we worked on uncovering the parts of ourselves that we hide because they are unacceptable to us. Acceptance can be one of the hardest concepts to understand, but achieving it can also bring some of the biggest rewards. When we are in full acceptance of who we are in this world, we are met with a kind of peace that radiates from our inner being.

We have all chosen the lives we are leading right now. You are choosing to read this course, and that is a choice you have made freely. I hope you are doing the homework, and that, too, is a choice made by you. Where you are living, where you are working, who you are married to have all been choices made by you. The health of your body has been up to you too, as you choose the foods and supplements that nourish you and keep you vital. We are all creating our lives at every moment, and every thought we have and decision we make throughout our day affects the whole of who we are.

Being in acceptance of your physical self is important to your well-being, but so is accepting your emotional health. A popular concept of thinking promotes thinking only positive thoughts because positive thoughts attract positive outcomes. This is very much true—our mind-sets and thoughts are very powerful resources in living the type of lives we desire. With every thought comes a choice in that moment. Even so, we need to accept that sometimes we aren't thinking a positive thought, and that's okay too. If we keep getting down on ourselves because we aren't thinking a positive thought, then we will head in a downward spiral. So when a negative thought enters your mind, instead of becoming upset, simply accept that you have had the thought, acknowledge it and send it on its way. Suppressing a negative thought simply gives it the power to revisit you, and each time it will come back stronger.

If you can think of yourself as the pilot of your life, the life that you are now creating, the whole world opens up to you. Being able to create is our birthright, and what better way to celebrate that than to create the best life you can for yourself? You might think that you've been dealt a raw deal. Perhaps you were born into an abusive family, born with a physical disability, born into poverty, etc. We all have our obstacles and challenges to acknowledge, work through and accept.

Everybody has the same lessons to learn—they simply appear to us in different guises. If you are having a pity party (I've had many, and I'm sure some of you have too), it's okay; there is nothing wrong with taking some time to feel sorry for yourself or your situation. What does matter is how much time you spend in that energy and how long it takes for you to pick yourself up and take action toward acceptance. Being in acceptance does not mean that you settle for a situation. It means that you are at peace with it, and that is when you are fully in your power. You cannot start to make change in your life or forge ahead without first coming to a place of acceptance. It's like having dessert before dinner—it seems like a fun thing to do, but it isn't best for us. When we have acceptance in our lives, we have a clean energy palette to work from and in which to move forward. Try and think of acceptance as the primer coat of paint before you put on the final coat. Without primer and sanding, that final coat will not stick. This applies to soul work too—you must do the groundwork in order for the rest of the work to fall into place.

Get this week's homework exercises

Accept where you are in your life, what you have done, what you are doing, who you are, where you have been, where you live, what you look like, what you do for a living. Take it all in. This is the life you created, and you may or may not be happy with this. The good news is that if you are unhappy, you can change things, but first do your groundwork and come to acceptance with where you are right now.
Soul Reflection:
Remember, the more you write and journal about these assignments, the greater benefits you will gain. You don't need to wait for a lightbulb moment for each answer—I'm asking you to spend time with each question in reflection.

• What does acceptance mean to you?
  
  
• Please write in your journal some of the ways that you do not fully accept yourself and the life you are living.
  
  
• Now write about ways that you do accept yourself and your life.
  

Action:
This week, take notice of what aspects of your life need acceptance. Spend a lot of time with this, and allow for your feelings to come up and then write about them. Try to come to terms with the life you have created for yourself so that you can take the next step: Making a change.

Connect with Others:
Throughout this process, you may find it beneficial to connect with others taking this course. It can be very therapeutic to share your thoughts with other people going through the same thing at the same time. Share your thoughts in the Comments section at the bottom of this page.

Madisyn Taylor is the co-founder of the online website DailyOM.com and spends too much time on the Internet. She's also a best-selling author; her books include DailyOM Inspirational Thoughts for a Happy, Healthy and Fulfilling Day (Hay House 2008) and DailyOM Learning to Live (Hay House 2010). 

More from Madisyn Taylor:
Find out more about Madisyn's Learning to Live course
Learn to be honest with yourself
Are you hiding behind technology? How to unplug