Have you ever wondered about the difference between self-esteem and self-acceptance? Self-esteem and self-acceptance are often mistaken for the same thing, yet it’s actually possible to have one without the other.
This could be because people don’t know they are two separate things, or they simply don’t want to accept that their negative thoughts, behaviors and words may not completely reflect who they are. Either way, this article will help you determine just what these terms mean so you can take action in your life today.
- What Is Self-Esteem?
- What Is Meant by Self-Acceptance?
- Relationship Between Self-Esteem and Self-Acceptance
- What Is the Difference Between Self-Esteem and Self-Acceptance?
- Conclusion
What Is Self-Esteem?
Self-esteem is a state of mind. It’s a positive feeling about yourself and your abilities, thoughts, and feelings. It’s about believing in yourself, loving yourself and being proud of who you are.
If we define it another way, “self-esteem” is a person’s belief that he or she has self-worth and the ability to succeed. A sense of self-worth comes from knowing your strengths and weaknesses, as well as what you are capable of doing. Aspects of self-esteem include self-confidence, pride, and optimism.
“Everything that happens to you is a reflection of what you believe about yourself. We cannot outperform our level of self-esteem. We cannot draw to ourselves more than we think we are worth.”
Iyanla Vanzant
So, it is an essential part of all aspects of life. It determines how much we enjoy life and how much we can achieve in our lives. If you have low self-esteem, it may affect your behavior, thinking, and relationships with others in your life.
If you have high self-esteem, then you probably feel good about yourself most days, even if things don’t go exactly right for you or your family during the day.
You may think that everything happens for a reason and that there is always something positive to look forward to at the end of each day.
Read More: Is Low Self-Esteem a Weakness?
What Is Meant by Self-Acceptance?
Self-acceptance is the act of accepting oneself for who he or she is. It is not about denying one’s flaws or imperfections but rather about accepting that everyone has them, and it does not make them any less valuable or worthwhile for being themselves.
“Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself.”
Harvey Fierstein
Why self-acceptance is important?
1. It allows you to be happy with who you are.
2. Self-acceptance allows you to accept yourself and others as they are, which can lead to greater self-esteem and happiness.
3. It reduces feelings of anxiety and depression.
When you feel accepted by others, you may find that you have fewer conflicts with them and less anxiety or depression over interpersonal issues.
4. It helps release endorphins that make us feel good about ourselves. (Endorphins are chemicals in our brains that give us a “high” when we perform certain activities (like exercising) or when we receive praise from others for our accomplishments (like accomplishing a difficult task).
When we experience self-acceptance, these endorphins are released into our bloodstream and produce satisfaction with ourselves. It’s not just about liking yourself, but accepting yourself as you are.
Many people practice self-acceptance by being kind to themselves. They try to treat themselves with respect and kindness when they’re feeling down or negative about themselves. They may even change their behavior to better suit their self-image.
The key is to recognize that your feelings about yourself are temporary and that you can change them without changing who you are in other ways.
“When you adopt the viewpoint that there is nothing that exists that is not part of you, that there is no one who exists who is not part of you, that any judgment you make is self-judgment, that any criticism you level is self-criticism, you will wisely extend to yourself an unconditional love that will be the light of the world.”
Harry Palmer
Read More; 7 Reasons why does love yourself important
Relationship Between Self-Esteem and Self-Acceptance
Self-esteem is a measure of how you feel about yourself. Self-acceptance measures how you respond to the world and how you deal with its challenges.
Self-esteem and self-acceptance are both important. But they’re not the same thing.
The two are related, but they’re not interchangeable. They’re different ways of looking at yourself about the world around you.
You can have high self-esteem without having high self-acceptance. Also, you can have low self-esteem and accept your flaws and limitations. It all depends on what’s going on for you in your life at that time.
What Is the Difference Between Self-Esteem and Self-Acceptance?
There are times when you may be experiencing self-deprecating thoughts or feelings. This can be frustrating because you don’t want to criticize yourself or beat yourself up over your shortcomings.
But if we can learn to accept ourselves without any judgment from others, then we can feel more empowered and happier with our lives.
The difference between self-esteem and self-acceptance is that one is about raising your standards for yourself, and the other is about appreciating who you are.
| Self-esteem | Self-Acceptance |
|---|---|
| How you feel about yourself | Accepting who you are |
| Self-evaluation | Being truthful with yourself. |
| How you view yourself. | Accepting your flaws |
1st Difference
Self-esteem is about evaluating yourself.
Self-esteem is about how you feel about yourself. It can be high or low, depending on your perception of yourself and how others perceive you.
If someone says something negative about your appearance, it can hurt your self-esteem because it makes you feel bad about yourself. This feeling will cause a person to want to change their appearance so that they don’t have such low self-esteem.
Self-acceptance is about being truthful with yourself.
Self-acceptance is about being truthful with yourself. When you begin to accept yourself, you will recognize the things that make you who you are. But you can’t expect to accept all parts of yourself at once.
As we have been living in some way for a long time. There may be things that we cannot accept about ourselves, as once mentioned. So, with time, we can grow our self-acceptance.
For someone else to accept himself, first they must be able to recognize their flaws and imperfections.
It means that if someone cannot look at himself honestly without flinching (or worse), they shouldn’t expect anyone else around them to do either.
2nd Difference
Self-esteem requires you to change yourself according to a predetermined standard.
Self-esteem is all about how you view yourself. It’s a belief system that says your value as a person comes from how well you measure up to an external standard, whether it be in terms of appearance, intelligence, or other external facts.
Self-acceptance requires you to accept yourself as you are.
Accepting your flaws doesn’t mean that you don’t care about improving yourself. It is acknowledging them and learning from them. So, they don’t negatively affect how others view or treat you.
3rd Difference
Self-esteem is influenced by external factors, while self-acceptance depends on your thoughts and beliefs.
Self-esteem is the belief that you are good enough and worthy of love. It’s a positive feeling that you have about yourself, usually based on your external appearance and accomplishments. Self-acceptance is different because it focuses more on your inner qualities than your outer appearance or achievements.
4th Difference
Self-esteem leaves out aspects of our personality that we don’t want to acknowledge.
As self-esteem is a term often used to describe how you feel about yourself, it may appear to be the same thing as self-acceptance, but it isn’t.
Self-esteem leaves out aspects of our personality that we don’t want to acknowledge. It tells us how we should look and act, rather than simply accepting who we are in this moment without judgment or criticism.
5th Difference
Self-esteem tends to be negative(sometimes).
Self-esteem is about judging and focusing on the parts of yourself that need improvement.
Self-acceptance tends to be both negative and positive.
Self-acceptance allows us to see our complete selves, including both the good and bad qualities. It doesn’t mean we can’t change anything about ourselves, but if you’re not trying to avoid certain aspects of your personality or life, you won’t be able to accept yourself.
You may be thinking, “How can I be self-accepting if my self-worth is low?” The answer is that you don’t have to feel guilty or ashamed of yourself. You just need to recognize your truth and accept the person you are right now, as well as all that comes with it. And remember, no one can tell you what’s best for you except yourself.
Self-esteem is also known as self-worth; however, there’s a difference between these two words (it mentioned several times too):
- Self-esteem = is how much value someone puts on themselves (their opinion), while self-acceptance = allowing oneself complete freedom in terms of personal growth without having any judgment placed upon us by society at large
Conclusion
Self-esteem is a measurement of how one feels about oneself. It can be measured in several ways, but the most common way to measure self-esteem is through a person’s appraisal of his or her abilities and qualities.
Self-acceptance, on the other hand, is the degree to which a person accepts his or her qualities and abilities as they are. It can be the acceptance of one’s weaknesses and imperfections along with their strengths, talents, and accomplishments.
Reference –
- What Is Self-Acceptance? 25 Exercises
- The Difference Between Self-Esteem, Self-Worth, Self-Confidence and Self-Knowledge
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