Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach, Ph.D

Great, great book. I read these book years ago and am still influenced by it. I have read several other self development books and I see the common thread amongst various authors on this topic. I think this book presents the idea much more effectively. My opinion of course :)
Let me share a 3 to 5 minute tidbit from this book.
RADICAL ACCEPTANCE by Tara Brach, PhD

For many of us, feelings of deficiency are right around the corner. It doesn't take much-just hearing of someone else's accomplishments, being criticized, getting into an argument, making a mistake at work-to make us feel that we are not okay.
As a friend of mine put it, "Feeling that something is wrong with me is the invisible and toxic gas I am always breathing.” When we experience our lives through this lens of personal insufficiency, we are imprisoned in what I call the trance of unworthiness. Trapped in this trance, we are unable to perceive the truth of who we really are.
We don't have to wait till our deathbed to realize what a waste of our precious lives it is to carry the belief that something is wrong with us. Yet because our habits of feeling insufficient are so strong, awakening from the trance involves not only inner resolve, but also an active training of the heart and mind.
Radical Acceptance reverses our habit of living at war with experiences that are unfamiliar, frightening or intense. It is the necessary antidote to years of neglecting ourselves, years of judging and treating ourselves harshly, years of rejecting this moment's experience. Radical Acceptance is the willingness to experience ourselves and our lives as it is. A moment of Radical Acceptance is a moment of genuine freedom.
The practice of Radical Acceptance runs at such crosscurrents to our culture of nonacceptance that it can be difficult to understand. Radical Acceptance is not resignation. Radical Acceptance does not mean defining ourselves by our limitations. It is not an excuse for withdrawal. Radical Acceptance is not self-indulgence. It does not make us passive.

The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.
As author Storm Jameson puts it:
"There is only one world pressing against you at this minute. There is only 1 minute in which you are alive, this minute here and now. The only way to live is by accepting each minute as an unrepeatable miracle."
(Do you see the connection between this post and the earlier post living in day-tight compartments? If in this minute we can let go of the past and the uncertainties of the future, we can enjoy the minute. You have to put in self effort to train your mind so you can live to the fullest. In this minute, just this minute can you enjoy what you are doing? If you are enjoying a cup of coffee now, can you focus your full attention to the coffee and enjoy every sip to the fullest? Taking baby steps is the way to get started. The journey of 1000 miles starts with a step. So find moments during your day, to just enjoy a minute here and a minute there. Train your mind to focus on each moment. It is your life, take charge).
Have a wonderful day. Bye for now