Self Acceptance or Self Improvement?

There is a fundamental lack of acceptance to be found at the core of any desire for change. Whether this is a rejection of current circumstances, an unwillingness to deal with undesirable consequences or simply an appetite for something more, it is the conflict between the desired and the actual that generates the very energies of change.

Reactive and Mindful Change

While reactive change, which is steeped in a lack of acceptance, offers greater focus and more abundant short-term momentum, it can often make efforts to better ourselves and alter our surroundings difficult to direct and even harder to sustain. From crash diets to failed attempts at giving up vices cold turkey, the limitations of reactive change as a force for personal and professional improvement are often all too apparent. Mindful change, which seeks to harness existing circumstances and to direct, rather than oppose, the momentum of external forces, is often infinitely more sustainable and thus more effective. It is often all but impossible to achieve our full personal or professional potential by resisting the momentum of the world around us. The Nature of Self Improvement and Self Acceptance Self improvement is a journey that takes us, step by step, past our current circumstances, beyond the limitations of our current awareness and into a place where we are able to become and inhabit the most desirable and effective aspects of ourselves. While personal and professional transformations that are based on the rejection of certain aspects of ourselves and our current circumstances can sometimes be beneficial, they can all too often result in a level of conflict that may be detrimental to long-term efforts. Self acceptance and a greater willingness to embrace our current situation and circumstances is a powerful tool. Acceptance facilitates mindful change, and makes it possible to select the issues, arenas and opportunities where efforts may be spent more productively- and to greater effect. The energies needed to fuel positive change are not infinite, and wasting them on issues that may prove intractable or in opposition to circumstances that may be beyond control may all too often lead to a state of exhaustion where further improvement is no longer possible. Personal and Professional Change The world of business and the landscape of self are often very similar environments. Through self improvement, it becomes possible to further actualize ourselves, allowing for a greater degree of professional success to be achieved and enjoyed. Through achievement and professional success, we are able to better know and understand ourselves, and to create and maintain more desirable and beneficial circumstances with greater ease. Businesses, just like people, can suffer from the limitations and pitfalls of reactive change, especially in circumstances where the distinction of sustainable improvement and detrimental efforts to enact change through the elimination of an undesirable situation or issue may be difficult to make. Accepting the issues and limitations that may prove too difficult to alter can free up the energy, resources and most importantly, the wider perspective you need to identify the arenas and opportunities where you can expend your effort to purchase greater and more beneficial change. From professionals who strive to become the best version of themselves to businesses that are unable to direct their energies and resources to greater effect, understanding the difference between reactive and mindful change, and knowing when to accept and when to improve can allow for future growth and success.