The Power of Acceptance

It is the night of Wednesday Oct 29 2023 and I am sitting in a Cann River motel writing this piece as the rain is pelting down from one of our famous “East Coast Lows”. It took me two hours to drive here from Orbost today, a trip which normally takes around 45 minutes. The highway was closed due to a car crash and traffic rerouted through the Club Terrace Loop Rd, a dirt road which had turned to slush because of the stream of bumper to bumper traffic churning it up. There is no certainty that I will be able to get home tomorrow as flooding is predicted with over 100ml of rain expected on top of what we have already received today.

So how am I feeling? Fantastic! This is not because of forced positive thinking, (which I would struggle to believe) but rather the power of simple acceptance. When one learns to accept what has happened and focus on what one has and what one can do rather than what has already happened which one can’t change there is an immediate sense of gaining strength, confidence and control.

Acceptance doesn’t mean agreement, it doesn’t mean giving in, and it doesn’t mean becoming a doormat. Acceptance is the practice of focussing on our locus of control. Like every human being I have little ability to control many of the things which happen around me on a daily basis. There is though, one thing I do have total control over- and that is me!

How I choose to think and what I choose to do about my circumstance is completely within my sphere of control.

Those who do best in adverse situations are those who focus on the things they can control and get on with taking actions which will improve their lot, no matter how small they might be. It is the belief we have no control which is so damaging to our confidence and turns us into victims. Those who choose to put most of their attention and energy into making the best of what they have got are the ones who do best in life because they refuse to see themselves as victims. When they do whatever they can to improve their situation they will always end up with the best possible result, even in the midst of the most adverse conditions and they too will feel fantastic most of the time.