Believe it or not, you are in a perfect place in your life, exactly where you need to be.

If that doesn't feel true, you may not be exercising your capacity for conscious acceptance as a springboard for making optimal choices, or may not understand how it can serve you as a bridge or anchor, to realizing the larger vision of where you aspire to be your life (whether you know what that is or not).

In Part 1, we looked at conscious acceptance, and how it can empower you to respond to disappointments and challenges in consciously positive ways. Considering the life-shaping power of responses, that's big.

In this post, we look at three factors that shape how you respond – your beliefs, choices and actions – and how acceptance can play a vital role in cultivating these key abilities, so that they more fully support you to take the shortest, most expedient path to living a life of balance, healing and transformation, or what psychologist Abraham Maslow would call self-actualization.

How does conscious acceptance maximize your beliefs, choices and actions?

• Like an anchor, acceptance grounds you sense of self and emotional safety in mind- and body-calming core beliefs.

As with beliefs, your choices are too powerful to release to the control of your subconscious mind. Your choices are also shaped by what you believe, especially, what you believe about your self and your efficacy in life.

As a springboard, acceptance optimizes your ego-strength to give you the resiliency and adaptability you need to make optimal and informed choices, especially in moments when challenging situations or events may threaten to throw the energies of your mind and heart off balance.

It is in those moments of decision that you need to harness the springboard power of your choices – inside – with a healthy and well-developed ego-strength. It takes a lot of courage to make optimal choices, to treat yourself and others with dignity – in moments when it's most difficult to do so. It takes a healthy ego can harness the inner wisdom of your heart – and not relinquish control to fear.

Acceptance is springboard for making informed choices, and it starts with accepting yourself, 100%, as the agent and responsible choice maker of your life. In this way, it's easier to say no to taking the 'easy way' out by acting defensively. Protective strategies can fool your ego into thinking you 'can' or 'must' be in control to avoid feelings of powerlessness – but it is all illusion.

The power of your choices is literally emotional energy in the form of courage to take the reins, and accept yourself, 100%, as the agent and responsible choice-maker of your life. Your moment-by-moment choices are inner responses to life around you that have a lifelong impact.

• Like a bridge, acceptance energizes the consistent action and momentum you need to get from where you are to where you aspire to be.

Your actions also shape you and your life. Like other abilities, it's essential to accept that your responses – in terms of the actions you implement – are far too powerful to leave to your subconscious mind to direct.

Following through with regular and consistent action in opportune moments is a life-shaping power that strengthens your staying power, as you reach to attain a goal. It also grows your sense of comfort and enthusiasm for what you do in the process.

As a bridge, acceptance energizes the momentum you need to move past failures. It gives you the flexibility you need to learn from mistakes, overcome obstacles, and press forth to crossover from where you are to where you want to be. It invites you to understand that your actions are designed to work together with wise beliefs and optimal choices to 'seal the deal' so to speak.

In a sense, actions are also the best 'measure' of what you really believe and really intend to create by your choices – consciously or subconsciously.

The practice of conscious acceptance is a foundational emotional state that helps you overcome obstacles or self-doubts that may otherwise stop you from taking action. From here, you are the captain of your ship of Life, in charge of your emotional fulfillment. Accept where you are, where you have been, know where you want to go, and take action. It's how your miracle-making brain and body are designed to work.

• The power of conscious acceptance

The secret to living an emotionally fulfilling life, or healing from unfulfilled expectations, in many ways, lies in how you respond to what most disappoints you. Your beliefs, choices and action are key determinants of how you respond.

Acceptance is a transformative emotion that, in addition to being energy efficient, is infinitely more powerful than the force of fear or shame or guilt. Believe in it. On the journey of life, the learned skill of conscious acceptance is an essential companion to bring along, to befriend, and to snuggle up with like a warm blanket as needed.

Beliefs, choices and actions are capacities you are equipped with that can become amazing abilities, and keys to unlocking the doors to your dreams – to the extent you cultivate and hone them.

Acceptance makes it possible to consciously approach any disappointment, past or present, as an opportunity to learn and understand: the situation; the power of how you respond; and how your choices, beliefs and actions shape the outcomes of your life and relationships.

It's been said before: A healthy vibrant life is a journey, and not a destination. In a sense, this means that, as a living, breathing human being, your envisioned destination is not something you ever arrive at, rather something you keep reaching for in order to keep your life in orbit.

So, why not get really comfortable with the idea that you and those around are (always…) works in progress, and make your life a labor of love with conscious acceptance?

The sooner you move to an emotional field empowered by acceptance, and feel the gratitude for your life, the better. And, the beauty of it is that you do this on your own. It starts with small changes inside. You can choose to consciously practice acceptance, to appreciate your mind and body, your breath, all that you are, and have been and will be—just because.

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    Last reviewed: 1 Feb 2012

APA Reference
Staik, A. (2012). How 'Conscious Acceptance' Empowers Your Beliefs, Choices and Actions, 2 of 2. Psych Central. Retrieved on February 4, 2012, from http://blogs.psychcentral.com/relationships/2012/01/healing-disappointment-and-conscious-acceptance-how-it-empowers-your-2-of-2/