Acceptance is the Present You Give to Yourself When Others Don't

In a new environment, for instance, we often feel left out. We aren't comfortable with ourselves. We feel different and completely lost. Some people can handle this new situation very well, while the others may struggle a bit.

Whichever group you belong to, the following tips might be able to ease the process and help you get going without sweating.

First, listen to your heart and accept yourself first before expecting to be accepted by others. This is probably the most crucial and hardest part of all as we all know that we are our own hardest critic. We judge ourselves. "I am too tall, I am too fat, I am too inexperienced."

We fear what people might think of us. We fear what people might say behind our back. We fear how we should react when people treat us bad. We fear we might get lost somewhere in the middle of the jungle of life. There are so many what-ifs and what-if-nots in our mind, yet we must move on.

Indeed, we all have fears and we judge ourselves much more often than we judge others. While there is no quick fix for this type of anxiety, fortunately, we can do one thing: accepting ourselves.

Acceptance is the key to our emotional well-being. When we accept ourselves for who we are, there are no more conflicting thoughts in your heart and mind. Every molecule in your body comes to an alignment. All fears disappear. The only thing that remains is peace.

Second, nurture your acceptance. Once you've accept yourself for who you truly are (both your strengths and weaknesses; past, present and future), you will need to nourish it everyday. Nurture it. Re-new your acceptance everyday, if not every time you are all alone by yourself (which can be more once every day or night).

If you are a religious person, affirm yourself by saying a short prayer. This is the one I chant to myself on my way to work, at the office, on my way back home and in bed: "Lord, please liberate me from my sufferings and bless me with your loving heart."