With thousands of self-help books littering the shelves of bookstores and online retailers, it’s painfully obvious that many people struggle to accept themselves and feel comfortable with who they are. But there is a reason, a great reason really, that people who don’t feel good about themselves are working for that self acceptance and it’s that people who accept themselves have significantly better daily lives. You can change a bad habit, you can try to be more outgoing, you can do things that challenge you, but underlying all these actions you have to know who you are and be comfortable with yourself to get the most out of these activities. If you aren’t the most social person and prefer to be alone, that’s fine! Go ahead and try to be more social if you’d like but being totally okay with knowing that deep down you’re most comfortable at home with a book, and being true to that self, is what will make you happy. Here are just a few ways that people who are comfortable in their own skin have more opportunity, more fun, and more success in their daily lives.
1. You’ll Make More and Better Friends
When you know who you are, what makes you tick, and what you are looking for out of life you’ll start to recognize other people who are similar to you. Going back to my example above, if you’re spending your time trying to be a social butterfly but you’re really a more introverted person who enjoys small groups, you will only be in situations with more extroverted people and will miss real connections with other introverts like you. You’ll begin to see people who share similar interests, personalities, and values as you and can spend time with them.
2. You Will Be Happy With What You Have
After you’ve accepted yourself you will have a good grasp on what it is in your life that makes you happy. You’ll stop thinking about how badly you need items that you want and will begin thinking more about how the things you already have make you happy. You’ll look at the world and think about how good off you really have it compared to others who are worse off.
3. You’ll View Yourself as a Success Story
It’s easy to compare yourself to others in a negative way, by thinking that you’re a failure compared to that other person. When you love yourself you’ll find yourself doing this much less often. You’ll begin to embrace the fact that we are all different, with different upbringings and different daily challenges we have to face. Those differences make it impossible to truly compare yourself to others and you’ll get to think about the ways you are successful in life. Maybe that other person got the promotion, but now they work longer hours and can’t spend as much time with their significant other, but you can! This type of thinking promotes more positivity, so once you find yourself doing it, keep it up.
4. You’ll See Opportunity Everywhere
When you know who you are and you’re happy with it you’ll be able to see opportunity around you that you probably didn’t notice before. It takes a lot of energy to work on fitting into roles you aren’t comfortable with and you tend to miss things because you’re so busy. Only when you are comfortable in your own skin do these opportunities start to stand out to you and when they do, grab them. Whether it’s a club, a sports team to join, a hobby to explore, or something else, you can recognize new opportunities to make your already happy self even more happy.
5. You’ll Stop Putting Emphasis On Age
When you’re 14 you think that at 20 you’ll have things figured out, but at 20 you think that at 30 it’ll all make sense, then suddenly you’re 30 and you realize that you still have no idea what’s going on. After you’ve accepted yourself for who you are and what makes you feel fulfilled then this emphasis on age and stages of life becomes less important because you’ve already figured it out! You’ll be able to enjoy life today, just the way you are, at the stage of life you’re in, and be open to the possibilities attached with this stage of life.
6. You’ll Notice More of the World
I’m not talking about traveling, though I do highly recommend that. When you accept yourself you will have a clearer mind and will be more able to focus on the world around you. You’ll spend less time worrying about problems and more time looking at why people around you are upset. You’ll begin to think about their motivations, their emotions and how you can help them to feel better. When you aren’t worried about the way in which the world views you, you’ll be able to take time out to embrace the world around you.
7. You Will Live Up To Your Potential
We all have the ability to do incredible things but we hold ourselves back through negative thinking and doubts about our own abilities. After embracing your strengths and weaknesses as just a part of who you are you can stand up to challenges and take them head on. You’ll have the ability to more carefully look at options you have available to you and more often you’ll choose the best fit to fix the problem. When you’re less worried about what your boss, coworkers, and friends think about you and more worried about the issues you’re facing you’ll end up impressing them all by making solid decisions that create good results.
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