“The only thing that will make you happy is being happy with who you are.” – Goldie Hawn.
Self-acceptance is something many people struggle with. We often wish to be someone other than ourselves.
We want to look different, act different and be different. We covet those with the qualities we desire. We long to be what we are not. We think we need to be taller, thinner, more attractive, more intelligent, more athletic, more talented etc.
We have a misguided notion that if we could change various things about ourselves it would guarantee us not only success but happiness and acceptance as well. The truth is that your ideal ‘you’ will keep changing which means you will never stop striving to transform yourself.
The fact of the matter is that you will never be perfect. Trying to change who you are is a futile pursuit that will lead to dissatisfaction, disillusionment and more than likely depression. Every effort you make to change who you were created to be won’t result in happiness or fulfilment but it will result in having a complete lack of peace.
I am sure you have heard the saying, “Happiness is not getting what you want, but wanting what you’ve got.” There is a lot of truth and wisdom in that statement. Stop trying to be what you are not. Let go of the desire to be someone else. Instead, embrace all that makes you, uniquely you.
Accept yourself, all of you. Realize that what you see as imperfections are really part of the essence of your ‘you-ness’. Instead of wasting time and energy trying to change, put all your effort into passionately being who you were created to be. Nobody else can be you. You are one of a kind. So, just be yourself!
When you accept yourself, you will find contentment, peace, self-worth and fulfilment. Through self-acceptance you will also gain confidence and the ability to fulfil your true potential. It is a very liberating experience. You will more than likely be surprised by how much you actually enjoy being you. After all this is who you were created to be.
“Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.” – Coco Chanel.
The pressures of life, people, circumstances and society often make us feel inadequate. This is a terrible trap of deception. If you believe the lie that ‘you’ are not enough you will not be able to accept and be happy with the you, you were made to be.
Success, fulfilment and happiness do not always come down to being the best, but rather being your best ‘you’ and giving your individual best. You are enough. Your best is enough. Regardless of what life throws your way, always be true to yourself.
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet (Act 1, Scene 3), Polonius gives his son Laertes this very good piece of advice, “To thine own self be true.”
I find the feel-good song, “The One And Only” by Chesney Hawkes, not only sums up self-acceptance brilliantly but the lyrics are also very motivating.
Below is a verse and chorus from this hit song.
“I can’t wear this uniform without some compromises
Because you’ll find out that we come
In different shapes and sizes
No one can be myself like I can
For this job I’m the best man
And while this may be true
You are the one and only you
I am the one and only
Nobody I’d rather be
I am the one and only
You can’t take that away from me”
If we teach children self-acceptance at an early age we can save them a lot of unnecessary struggling, confusion and unhappiness. Children need to know the importance and the joy of self-acceptance. It is for this reason that I wrote “The monkey who wanted to be different”. The story highlights the importance of self-acceptance. Matthew the monkey shows children that it is important to like yourself and to be proud of who you are.
Join Matthew the monkey on his adventures in the African bush and find out how he comes to not only accept who he is but to like himself too.
Get your copy of “The monkey who wanted to be different” from Amazon and various other leading online retailers. I hope this story will motivate children to not only accept themselves, but to like themselves, be proud of themselves and be happy in their own skin. If you have read and enjoyed this story please show your support by leaving a review.
Any blog or book related feedback and questions are always welcome. I would love to hear from you. Please share photographs of your children enjoying my books by posting them on my website and/or my Jacqui Shepherd Children’s Author Facebook Page.
Make story time a special time. Happy reading!
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