It is different accepting the journey because we all want to get to our destination and avoid the hiccups we encounter. Acceptance is the creme de la creme when it comes to the big picture. It shouldn’t be an after thought and I’m definitely not going to write a corny speech about how life is less blink when you accept the journey.

I’m not that type of girl, self-help gurus love to talk about acceptance. Here’s the truth, acceptance doesn’t come easy. Even if you think about it, there’s no way you can pluck it from the clouds as if it’s candy cane. Acceptance is hard, accepting who you are is no easy feat and that’s why often it’s a struggle. We hear about how we should accept who we are in the moment, but who I was yesterday isn’t who I am today.

Instead of accepting who you are in the moment why not accept the journey. The journey determines were you go and these days everyone is such in a hurry to get going. 

To make all their dreams come true as we’re all on a race to get to our happy place. What about now? The moments, the laughs, the information streams that come your way. Every day is a chance for you to build up on who you are. To develop and grow. If you ever have noticed the way screen writers bide their time when it comes to characters.

There are moments when you want your favorite character to grow up, act differently or to become a better person. Often you’re left disappointed, dejected and confused. It can take seasons for a character to develop and grow because the journey to get there is far important than the end-result.

 

 

 

Getting there is a process

 

 

I used to push myself so hard that everything would collapse on me. I believed I was late and I was running behind everyone else. Everyone screamed at me that I needed to hurry up. I hated being a late bloomer because there was so much I had to learn in a short span of time. This sounds contradictory, let me explain for a second. When I got into high school, I was rushing to do all the things I didn’t do when I was younger. I failed often and was frustrated. I tried playing catch up and often it ended up with me losing a lot including being present.

People will tell you that you have to marry before your thirty, travel in your twenties and be a manager by thirty-five. I have friends who have achieved a lot of things before turning thirty and I have friends who haven’t.

We use certain standards to determine where we are in life. I know I have done that for the better part of my life. Using a criteria designed to make you feel as though you have failed never works. When I was thirteen, I wrote a book of short stories, I wanted to publish it by the time I was fourteen. It was an achievement, but I didn’t feel that way because I thought I should be doing other things like normal kids. I thought I should have been part of a club, traveling the world and winning awards like my peers.

I never published that book. I can blame it on the criteria of who I thought I should be. That was the beginning of a habit that pushed me to the back of the line, made me feel as if I was inadequate or a failure.

Accepting the journey is hard because we all want to get to the destination as soon as possible. Most of us need to learn how to deal with hard truths. Goal Cast wrote about how we can deal with hard truths. If you want to truly be happy you need to realize that certain things are beyond our control.

 

 

 Time is your friend

 

 

It has taken me years to understand that it takes time to be where you want to be. Some people learn faster while others don’t. We weren’t built the same. I never got to achieve what I wanted, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t accomplished a lot through the years. It might have been as fast paced as I liked, but I conquered stage fright, thrice. Sang in front of a crowd of hundreds of people. Stayed in Asia, Europe, Africa and America.

I fell in love with my self again, rediscovered who I was and wrote a couple of books, both in fiction and non-fiction. I befriended amazing people, relished all the moments when I was and wasn’t in control of my life.

Time is a friend that sides with you, caresses your cheeks and makes you believe who you are. Time is God’s gift to mankind and we often forget that. Simply because we don’t understand what time represents. Yes, you could die tomorrow and I’m not saying don’t go for your dreams, but enjoy the journey

Most of us waste time, not realizing that it is a invaluable resource. It is the one thing you can never get back and if you want to know how to use time better so that you live a more peaceful and happier life, you can read more about it here. 
One thing you need to realize is that in order to accept the journey, you have to see time as a means to get to where you want to go. As hard as it is, accepting the journey is only half of the battle. The other comes in understanding how to win at life. First thing is to accept the journey, your truths and the hardships you have had to endure. Only then can you make progress in life.

 

 

Lessons learned

 

  

What I have learned about acceptance is that it means different things for people. As the saying goes different strokes, different people. We all learn certain things on our journey to our destination.

Acceptance is about being content with who you are and understanding it will take time to get to who you want to be. For example, I used to have anger issues, it took years for it to slip away. For me to become calm. Now, it’s strange when people tell me how calm I am, but what they don’t realize is it was a long journey.

Discontentment isn’t something that goes away after a day, it’s a journey and if that’s the case then you have to be easy on yourself. Understand that life is a process and there are crucial lessons you learn a long the way.

Another lesson I have learned is to accept all my quirks, still it is a process. There are times when I close my eyes and wish certain things were easier. I wish I could go to a party and enjoy myself, but that isn’t who I am. I hate loud places, it could be that my brain misfires and my senses are overwhelmed. It used to annoy me, but I understand I need to accept who I am in the moment.

With acceptance there are certain things you can change with time and there are traits inbuilt that you can’t change. With acceptance you have to understand who you are and who’ll you never be. That is a process that takes years and we should appreciate the moment. The most important thing is to love yourself and with time the journey will get a lot easier. The best way to accept the journey is by realizing that there are important lessons you will learn along the way.

  

What have you learned about acceptance? Write it down below.

 

 

                                     Vanessa

                                           

                                         KEEP    PUSHING