Michael

Self-empowerment — that’s learning to respect other people’s music, but dance to your own tune as you master harmony within yourself. – Doc Childre

My friend Kim sent me this quote about a week ago. I like this one a lot and I feel it really hits the “nail on the head”.

For some reason, people tend to focus on other people and how they can be changed. You see this phenomenon every where. Groups get together and proclaim you have to believe a certain way to gain acceptance or salvation. People label you strange if you don’t “conform” to what the majority is doing. Politics, religion, sexual orientation, racial/cultural differences, and humor are just a few examples.

I believe most people are not comfortable with who they are. They don’t accept themselves. This is so difficult for most that it is easier to control or try to change others instead. I’ve been one of those people. For most of my life, I tried to control the world around me by “forcing” others to believe in what I believe. I used the insidious technique of passive aggressiveness to make people do what I wanted them to do in the way I thought it should be done. It was not a shining moment in my life.

One day shortly after I turned 40, I had a revelation. I realized, in one sweeping moment, that I liked and accepted who I was. Two things happened. First, a great weight was lifted off my shoulders as I didn’t need to question every decision I had made in my life up until that point in time anymore. Secondly, my capacity for accepting the differences in others dramatically increased. Several years later, I find this capacity continually increasing.

I find the diversity on this planet to be quite fascinating. As I get older, I’m more and more interesting in what others think and believe. I don’t feel threatened anymore and I find that the openness has and continues to stretch my perspective for the better. As I get more comfortable with who I am, I find that I can allow others to be more of who they are without judgment.

Here’s a exercise for you. Each day you wake up, find one thing that you like or accept about yourself. Look in the mirror and verbally acknowledge what you accept. If you do this every day, you might be surprised by what transformations take place within you.

Have an accepting day!