Accepting does not necessarily mean liking, enjoying, condoning. I can accept what is-and be determined to evolve from there. It is not acceptance but denial that leaves me stuck.
Interpretation
Acceptance allows for personal growth, even if one doesn't agree with the situation.
In this quote, Nathaniel Branden emphasizes that true acceptance does not require one to agree with or like a situation, but rather to acknowledge it as a starting point for personal development. He contrasts acceptance with denial, suggesting that only by accepting reality can one move forward and evolve, instead of being immobilized by denial.
In practice
Using this quote during a personal development workshop to discuss the importance of acceptance in growth.
Living consciously is seeking to be aware of everything that bears on our interests, actions, values, purposes, and goals. It is the willingness to confront facts, pleasant or unpleasant. It is the desire to discover our mistakes and correct them . . . it is the quest to keep expanding our awareness and understanding, both of the world external to self and the world within.
If you are an adult, you are responsible for your life and well-being. No one owes you the fulfillment of your needs or wants; no one is here on earth to serve you. If you respect the principle of self-ownership, you understand that no one else owns you and that you do not own anyone else. Only on this understanding can there be peace on earth and good will among human beings.
It is a mistake to look at someone who is self assertive and say, "It's easy for her, she has good self-esteem." One of the ways you build self-esteem is by being self-assertive when it is not easy to do so. There are always times when self-assertiven ess requires courage, no matter how high your self-esteem.
Living consciously reflects the conviction that sight is preferable to blindness; that respecting the facts of reality is more satisfying than denying them; that evasion does not make the unreal real or the real unreal; that it is better to correct your mistakes that to pretend they do not exist; and that the more conscious you are of facts bearing on your life and goals, the more wisely and effectively you can act.
One of the hardest expressions of self-assertiveness is challenging your limiting beliefs.
How do we keep our inner fire alive? Two things, at minimum, are needed: an ability to appreciate the positives in our life β and a commitment to action. Every day, it's important to ask and answer these questions: βWhat's good in my life?β and βWhat needs to be done?
It is true that from a behavioral economics perspective we are fallible, easily confused, not that smart, and often irrational. We are more like Homer Simpson than Superman. So from this perspective it is rather depressing. But at the same time there is also a silver lining. There are free lunches!
The Sufis advise us to speak only after our words have managed to pass through three gates. At the first gate, we ask ourselves, 'Are these words true?' If so, we let them pass on; if not, back they go. At the second gate, we ask, 'Are the necessary?' At the last gate, we ask, 'Are they kind?'
Never bear more than one trouble at a time. Some people bear three kinds - all they have had, all they have now, and all they expect to have.
Do not be afraid; our fate Cannot be taken from us; it is a gift.
The only thing over which you have complete right of control at all times is your mental attitude.
Meditation means learning how to get out of this current, sit by its bank and listen to it, learn from it, and then use its energies to guide us.
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