“Acceptance doesn't mean resignation; it means understanding that something is what it is, and there's got to be a way through it.”
—Michael J. Fox, actor and advocate
“Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
—James Baldwin, novelist and social activist
These three words have been the subject of countless trainings, keynotes, and conversations for me, helping to provide a simple structure for leading through change. When it comes to playing a new game, these three concepts create a powerful playbook for new possibilities. Nathaniel Branden, the Canadian therapist who pioneered the psychology of self-esteem, said, “The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.”
Why is acceptance so vital to managing change?
In her book Loving What Is, Byron Katie explains the source of our discontent: our inability to see and accept the reality of life around us. The cause of all suffering – that's right, every discomfort and discontentment and challenge and overwhelm and you name it because you don't like it – comes from one single source. That source? What we are thinking and believing.
Not what we are accepting. ...
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