What is Acceptance?
There are times, like Jack, when we can't change the thing in our lives that's causing emotional turmoil. We may not have the coping skills we need for the situation. When we find ourselves with big emotions and limited tools to address them, acceptance can be extremely powerful.
What is acceptance?
Acceptance is NOT glossing things over. It's not saying "everything is fine" and putting on a show and a fake smile.
Sometimes there's nothing we can do about the emotion, but it's a difficult emotion, and it can get in our way unless we recognize it's there. Often, the more we fight or ignore it, the bigger it gets.
Back to Jack...
Jack enjoys his job and wants to do well, but he has no idea what to expect with the upcoming meeting. By accepting his concern, he can choose how he will perform that day. He can choose how he prepares for the meeting. He can choose if he lets it bother him or not. He knows he's doing a good job and doing the best that he can, so he's going to keep going about his normal tasks and routines and try to have the best meeting he can. It doesn't remove the situation, but it relieves some of the stress for him.
In managing difficult emotions, first we need to identify. After identifying the emotions, we need find a plan and address it. If it's not something we can control, we can try utilizing coping skills. In addition to this, acceptance is vital. We need to recognize the emotions and their impact without trying to change anything.
Next week, we'll dive into how having a longer-term plan and knowing what our goals and values are can further help in managing difficult emotions.
The content above is based on the information provided from the youtube video by Robert Magill (see below); it has been edited and arranged by Joy Bundy.