There are quotes about acceptance that can very helpful when you need to accept a difficult situation. It can be very tempting to try and change or improve something; however, sometimes change isn’t possible. Several years ago I faced a very debilitating injury, which changed my life greatly. While I am better, I have had to accept that I can no longer do ballet, and I can’t change that. I found that when I finally accepted that my body won’t let me do ballet anymore, a great weight was lifted. As challenging as acceptance can be, it can be quite liberating. Reading these quotes about acceptance might help you reconcile something you can’t change with a little more ease.
William James was a brilliant philosopher and psychologist who lived in the late 1800s. He asserted, “Be willing to have it so. Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.” I know from experience that there is a lot of truth in this quote, and other quotes about acceptance like it. It took me quite a while to accept my injury, but when I finally did I became more able to move on. When you experience
life-changing events, it can be easy to look back to the past and try to find a way to make things go back to the way they were. However, this is usually not possible. You will find that you are able to move on from these events much easier if you accept that they happened and that things are different. Obviously this isn’t easy, but it is possible, and it will make the process of moving on much easier.
George Orwell wrote famous novels such as Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, and he was well-known for social criticism. Interestingly, George Orwell also offered insight into acceptance and its role in happiness. He stated, “Happiness can exist only in acceptance.” When you accept whatever your current situation is, it is much easier to be happy. It is much more difficult to be happy when you are always trying to reach for something better and improve things. Of course, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try and achieve your goals. It does, however, mean that as you are achieving your goals you should enjoy the journey. Accept wherever you are on your journey at this moment in time, and happiness will be much easier to find.
Michael J. Fox is a famous actor who also has Parkinson’s Disease. He has become an advocate of Parkinson’s research and speaks openly about his disease. He wisely declared, “Acceptance doesn’t mean resignation; it means understanding that something is what it is and that there’s got to be a way through it.” There is always a way through hard situations, even if the way through is by accepting that things won’t change. Unfortunately, there are some diseases that are not curable, but people with these diseases can learn to live life with happiness. They can find happiness in family, friends, and what they are able to do.
Due to his disease, Michael J. Fox knows first-hand what it is to experience something difficult. However, his acceptance of his situation has enabled him to live life with grace and humor. Whenever he appears on TV he seems to have such a joy for life. Fox has emphasized that, “[His] happiness grows in direct proportion to [his] acceptance, and in inverse proportion to [his] expectation.” While Fox does have Parkinson’s disease, this quote applies to everyone. Accepting yourself as you are will lead to much greater happiness than always having expectations for yourself.
Eckhart Tolle is a spiritual leader who wrote the popular books The Power of Now and A New Earth. He has great insight into acceptance, which he reveals with his statement, “Acceptance looks like a passive state, but in reality it brings something entirely new into this world. That peace, a subtle energy vibration, is consciousness.” When you accept things in your life that you cannot change, you do experience a weight being lifted from you, and you tend to feel more at peace. I know when I accepted that I could no longer dance I felt much more at peace. I was no longer fighting with reality. It felt, and still feels really good to not be at war with myself. Because acceptance can be difficult, it helps to think of the peace you will feel when you finally reach acceptance.
I usually think of the Harry Potter series as books to read for entertainment. However, there is also a lot of wisdom in these popular books. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling wrote, “Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery.” In order to reach acceptance, it is important to fully understand your circumstances. You cannot accept something unless you understand it. To bring back my own personal experience, I was not able to accept my injury until I fully understood everything about it. I had to ask a lot of questions, but when I did finally understand my injury, I was able to accept it and what it meant. I was also able to recover emotionally. Acceptance can be very healing when you are struggling with something that is difficult emotionally. Of course there were tears when I realized I couldn’t dance again, but then I moved on and was able to recover.
One of the most poetic quotes about acceptance comes from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He wrote, “For after all, the best thing one can do when it is raining is let it rain.” Just like you can’t stop the rain, there are some things you cannot change. For things you can’t change, the best thing you can do is find acceptance and let it rain. Sometimes you have to let it rain so you can find the sunshine.
Acceptance is something that is challenging to face. Yet, if you face the challenge, you will find that you feel more at peace and happier. These quotes all illustrate that there are some things in life you have to accept, and when you reach acceptance happiness can follow. Do you struggle with finding acceptance?