Why is acceptance SO hard? I think it’s because we look at acceptance through the lens of past and future.

For example, “If I accept that a person from my past harmed me, I’m saying that it’s OK and it feels like I’m giving them a free pass from consequences. I feel like a doormat. And it feels like I’m giving them permission to harm me again in the future.”

Or, “If I accept things as they are, then how will things change and improve? Won’t there just be more of the same? If I accept what’s happening, aren’t I resigning myself to a bleak future?”

The key is that acceptance happens ONLY in the present. It’s not saying what happened in the past was OK. It’s not saying that what’s happening now will continue. It’s merely an “agreement” with the present.

It doesn’t do any good to put your destination into your GPS unless you also put in your starting point.

Acceptance is like that. It’s orienting to your current location.

And everything is possible from there.