Radical Acceptance

You may sometimes hear or tell people the phrase “sometimes life isn’t fair.” The fact of the matter is that there are occasions that even the most positive people can still experience situations beyond our control. The term for these types of problems that occur in our life is called radical acceptance. The more direct definition of radical acceptance is allowing ourselves to accept life on life’s terms while not resisting what we cannot or choose not to change. Radical acceptance is not allowing ourselves to stay in a negative mindset when things don’t go our way. It’s allowing ourselves to embrace that some things are just beyond our control and that when we want to live a better and happier life. We have to understand that we have to accept the things beyond our control and not sweat the small stuff so much. You may be asking yourself, how can I be better about sweating the small stuff and embracing the radical acceptance of life? It is possible to radically accept things more easily; therefore, let’s dive into how you can execute this when faced with challenges better and simply this as part of your life.

Refusing to Accept Your Reality

When we often make negative comments that relate to the reality we do not desire, we can struggle to face reality. It’s as if we allow our minds to refuse to accept the truth to keep it from being accurate, or that accepting means agreeing. The fact of the matter is accepting the situation is not failure, but fighting a reality that isn’t what you desire is exhausting. Life is full of experiences, including some that you will appreciate and others which you will despise. You reduce your ability to feel joy when you push away or avoid sensations of grief and pain.

Silence the Need To Control Everything

I have to be honest here. I used to think my superpower was my ability to control things. I would work harder and be more driven so that I had better odds in my favor. I would attempt to play devil’s advocate on anything and everything I could as a protection mechanism. I believed that if I knew what to expect in a situation, I could not only protect myself from unfavorable outcomes but hopefully be able to foresee them in time to change the odds in my favor. I thought if I could anticipate all things, I could eliminate all the things that I didn’t want and retain control of my desired outcome. Of course, there is merit to doing all that I used to do to increase the odds of having my desire or outcome; however, it manifested. The truth is that you can do all the things, and you can still not have the result you want, no matter how much intention you set behind it.

Radical Acceptance Is A Process

One of the most complex factors to accept when it comes to situations not going your way is accepting that this will happen regardless. Embracing a radical acceptance into your life and utilizing it to create a more positive life is a PROCESS. I will not sit here and tell you it’s an overnight thing or that it can flip on like a light switch. It truly is a process, and if you are someone who struggles already with handling unforeseen challenges, then the process will be more remarkable for you. Give yourself the grace that you did all you could do from your end to avoid something, but sometimes not everything can and will go your way. Allow yourself to accept that things happen radically and that dwelling on things for too long can create more harm than good in the end.