Beginning a journey of intentionally healing and creating change in your life may feel as exciting as it does overwhelming. You might put a lot of pressure on yourself to achieve healing perfectly and expect yourself to have healed in certain ways by certain times, but that is not how healing happens. It is important to accept where you are, anchor into the present moment, and let go of what you think your healing should look like and instead just let it happen.
Acceptance as the Vessel for Change
Without acceptance, change is not possible. Perhaps you find yourself believing that if you accept where you are, you will not change. Instead, to create change and healing, you must lean into self-acceptance to cultivate true, authentic, and meaningful change that is not forced.
Without acceptance, you may stay stuck where you are, as what you resist persists. With acceptance, you can move forward and experience the healing you desire.
Staying Present
It can be easy to get caught up in trying to predict the future or ruminate on the past. Trying to control the future or change the past can trick you into believing you can change the outcome of what has happened or what may happen. This can also create a false sense of safety for a moment. Trying to live in times that are not the present never leads to feeling safe in the present.
The only place you are able to create change is in the present moment. It is only from this space that you can lean into what you need to create and experience the change you desire for healing—whether that be sobriety, decreasing stress, self-acceptance, or building meaningful relationships.
Letting Go of Shoulds
Another powerful practice to cultivate while healing is the continual process of letting go of “shoulds,” comparisons, and expectations of what healing is supposed to look like. It is easy to become caught in the hamster wheel of perfectionism and comparison, although this is what causes a disconnect from yourself.
At the end of the day, there is not a “right” way that healing happens. Everyone has a different process and changes at a different pace, so there is no right or wrong way for that to look or feel.
Healing is an exciting, though potentially overwhelming, process of beginning to express and embody your authentic self. Through acceptance, staying present, and letting go of shoulds, you can allow your healing to happen more naturally.
Everybody’s process of healing looks different. It can be easy to get caught in the cycle of judging yourself for not changing in the ways you desire and comparing your journey to somebody else’s. However, these are often the patterns that keep you stuck from allowing yourself to heal. At Avalon Malibu, we recognize how difficult it can be to practice acceptance, let go of shoulds, and learn how to anchor into the present moment. We are ready to support you in healing. Call Avalon Malibu at (844) 857-5992.
