We’re continuing with different kinds of mini-retreats you can do at home or work when you have limited time. Today’s focus is radical self-acceptance.
When you take time to nurture yourself with a mini-retreat, you re-energize your body, mind, and spirit. Each mini-retreat in this series helps you to be fully present in the moment. Wouldn’t it be thrilling if you could fully detach from your to-do list, your worries, judgmental thoughts, and anxiety about the future, even for 5 to 20 minutes? It would be radical—because you could have a new beginning to your day at any time.
However, many women live with an inner saboteur who gets in the way of experiencing joy, happiness, and peace of mind. Many women listen to that inner voice: it’s highly critical, demanding that you do more with less, and whispers that you will never be good enough.
There’s tremendous freedom once you quiet your inner saboteur. You’re free to know what makes you happy and follow the dreams that you pick for yourself. To help free you from your saboteur, this week’s mini-retreat deals with radical self-acceptance.
Radical Self-Acceptance
Radical self-acceptance, like all of these mini-retreats, is a practice. The more you do it, the more natural it feels and the stronger the results. It’s a simple place to start to break old habits of thought and create new, more positive beliefs. Five minutes a day can change your life!
The heart of radical self-acceptance is choice: you can choose which messages to believe—those from your inner saboteur, or new ones that you will write for yourself. When you practice 
radical self-acceptance, you’ll discover a realistic understanding of your strengths and weaknesses and an awareness of your values and your needs.
Through practicing radical self-acceptance, you will learn to accept yourself exactly as you are. You start to experience a brand new freedom:
- You show up authentically. You don’t second-guess yourself, worrying about what to say, think, or feel when you’re with others. You’ll no longer need to wear a phony mask to fit in or avoid calling attention to yourself.
- You can ask for help when you need it. You release any embarrassment or shame about your inexperience, lack of knowledge, or vulnerability that would have prevented you from asking for help.
- Your expectations for how others treat you shift. You no longer tolerate unacceptable situations, people, or relationships. You now speak up and act on your own behalf with authority and grace.
- You choose to do more of the things you love, instead of filling your days taking care of other people’s needs.
Self-approval and self-acceptance in the now are the main keys to positive changes in every area of our lives. – – Louise Hay
Suggested Steps
- Find a comfortable place to sit or lie down. Bring your journal or a pad of paper and a pen.
- Start with relaxing and getting in touch with your body. Breathe in slowly for 7 counts, then breathe out slowly for a count of 10. Breathe this way for 5 to 8 breaths.
- As you relax, focus your breath on your heart. If you’re familiar with the chakras, a system of energy centers in the body used in holistic medicine, focus on your heart chakra. The heart chakra is located in the center of your chest. Each chakra has colors associated with it. The heart chakra is associated with two colors: green and pink. The color green represents giving and receiving love, while the color pink strengthens the ability to be compassionate. If it feels right for you, visualize these colors in your heart chakra.
- Now you’re ready to write.
- Begin by writing down three things you did well today. You might include making a healthy breakfast for yourself, giving encouragement to a friend who needed support, or writing a draft of an article.
- Next, write down three things you appreciate about yourself. If you find this difficult, imagine what a close friend would name as your best qualities. Maybe you are trustworthy or generous. Perhaps you persevere and get things done, or you have an extraordinary imagination. Perhaps you’re a safe driver or take excellent care of your pets. Brag to yourself!
- Finally, write down three things you are grateful for. You can be thankful for your family or friends, living in a comfortable, safe house or apartment, or for all the healthy food available to you. Maybe you’re grateful for last night’s beautiful sunset or for the blue-jay you saw this morning.
- Read aloud what you wrote during this practice.
Some things to reflect on
What would be different if you practice radical self-acceptance every day? Imagine your new self-image, your dreams and expectations, and the positive changes in your relationships at work and at home. Imagine your finances improving, your deeper enjoyment of leisure time, and feeling happier because you spent 5 minutes appreciating yourself. What other changes do you visualize?
Please share your experience with this mini-retreat in the Comments section below the blog post or on my Facebook page. You’re invited to share a mini-retreat of your own.
If you missed the first post in this series, you can read it here.
Stay tuned for the final 20-minute retreat coming next week.
