Elements of Happiness: Accept Yourself

Welcome to the second installment of a 6-post series I'm calling Elements of Happiness. I'm taking an in-depth journey and attempting to break down the ingredients that go into a recipe for happiness. If it helps you get out of the last few months of winter doldrums, great! If you just needed a quick pick-me-up, I hope these posts meet those needs, too. Either way, I hope you enjoy the next several weeks as I humbly explore the Elements of Happiness.

Element #1 advised to stop taking offense. The second element convinces the mind what the heart already knows; that you have been created perfectly and for a specific purpose. No one can be you. No one can do the things in the way only you can do them, or even think the way you think. You are unique and you are beautiful. Stop beating yourself up for the person you were meant to be. Trust me, the world will beat you up just fine without your helping it. But, while you mend the heartbreaks, heal the wounds, know that you owe it to yourself to be only you. It's time to begin living each day as only you can. The comparisons need to stop in order to achieve happiness. This is true. But it can only stop if you accept and respect the real you, wholeheartedly. Depending on where you are in your journey of self-discovery, this action may be as close as Timbuktu, but keep pressing on.

Inspite of everything you may be feeling, you are good enough, smart enough, strong enough, pretty enough, to take on the world as only you can do. You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). Don't waste such wonderfulness pretending to be something you're not. You need to be honest with yourself and start to discover the person you see on the inside when you look in the mirror. It's the only side that will ever matter in the bigger picture.

Ever have a "friend" that you just didn't like? They may still be considered a friend, but perhaps only by convenience or situation. The fact is, you simply don't like to be around the person. What if this "friend" never left your side? Every where you turned, there they were, just annoying you and getting on your nerves! Well, actually you can walk away from that "friend" at any time if you don't like her or him, but, if you don't like yourself, you can't walk away from yourself.

You never get a break from yourself. You are the friend that keeps lingering on to yourself. You can't get away from yourself and if you don't like hanging around yourself, it becomes a problem for you and for others that have to interact with you daily. Learn to like yourself. I'm talking about liking your flaws along with your attributes; accepting your weaknesses as well as your strengths. Accept yourself because there is a reason you are here and your purpose can't be accomplished if you are not who you are supposed to be: your true, authentic self. No one will be better at being you than you, so get moving, cut yourself some slack, and start believing how wonderful you truly are. You are God's masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10), now begin to believe it!


Want some homework? Read this post and write down all the ways in which you are enough.