How Accepting Myself Helps Me Accept Others

When I can come to full terms with my own humanity—that I’m imperfect and just doing the best I can with what I’ve got—I can also extend that to others and accept their humanity. And with that, accept that sometimes, they may even cause me pain.

That sucks!

But the better I get at showing compassion to myself, the better I can get at showing compassion to others. Even to those people who I may have a hard time not being judgmental towards.

After all, I’ve caused myself plenty of pain and hardship over my lifetime. Somehow, I learn to live with myself, give myself a break, and even grow to have some love for myself, despite the fuck-ups. Because I can see through and understand that I was reacting to something in fear, and that I can cause pain without necessarily intending to do so.

All I can try to do is grow to be more self-aware of when I’m reacting to something in fear and against my values. From there, I can also learn to have more patience and acceptance for the people I come into contact with.

If I don’t want to live in constant disappointment, I need to extend that same branch of understanding to others. After all, we’re all connected. When I love others, I love myself. And when I show love to myself, I’m also doing so for others.