"Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look,
He thinks too much; such men are dangerous." Shakespeare- Julius Caesar
Bonus points for whoever sees this concept mentioned in "The Adjustment Bureau"
"Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look,
He thinks too much; such men are dangerous." Shakespeare- Julius Caesar
Bonus points for whoever sees this concept mentioned in "The Adjustment Bureau"
That's my poop stirrin' stick- Don't touch it! You don't know which end is the handle..
I'm not seeing this, in general terms, as a net negative. Self Acceptance would tend to allow you to focus on other things, perhaps more productive overall.
Maybe, I'm not considering enough scenarios???
Self acceptance as against....self contempt? Angst?
Perceiving a problem calls out for a solution - or at least that's the way it occurs for natural problem solvers. Which way that causality flows is unclear. Do certain people more acutely perceive "problems", and as a result, seek to understand and solve those problems? Or do certain people simply possess a skill set for problem solving, so as a result, they look for problems to solve?
The question you've posed requires a clear understanding of the terms themselves - what is accomplishment, and how is it to be determined? Is accomplishment solving a problem? Is it reaching a goal? Is it doing something that wouldn't have been done otherwise? If you dig a hole on Monday, then fill it in on Tuesday, was filling in the hole an accomplishment?
What is self-acceptance? The very idea of the self is a constructed, imagined thing. We each have a body, containing a brain, and somewhere therein exist the mystery of thoughts and identity. The way our selves are constructed is inherently incomplete, since we all have blind spots, so what does it mean to accept one's self?
In (what I believe is) the spirit of your question, I'll offer an initial response: I think it may be possible to stop caring about one's identity, but I don't know if it's possible to eliminate it. The conflicts that exist between our mental models of the world, and the reality of the world, are what clue us in to our blind spots. We don't know what we don't know, so when life reveals our blind spots to us, we have an opportunity to strive to learn more, be more, do more. An opportunity, not a necessity.
We didn't land on Plymouth Rock. Plymouth Rock landed on us.
One must not mix up self-acceptance with complacence.
Bass ackwards way of looking at it, if you asked me.Does self acceptance promote complacency thereby stifling further accomplishment?
If one starts with self-acceptance as a form accomplishment most or all other forms seem delusional by comparison.
And if self-acceptance is forfeited in a quixotic quests of chasing after a flock of wild-geese other accomplishment-promoting targets then what have you?
No, in fact I believe it promotes accomplishment.
In a simplistic way of looking at motivation you can "run from pain" or "run towards pleasure". Often they will start in the same direction and look similar, but running towards something gets you further. At least you can get past the point of "O.K.". Reward is a better motivation than punishment. Also, when you are less accepting and forgiving of yourself you are often also less honest or realistic about what you really want, are capable of, and can realistically change. You have deep emotional needs to feed that are more focused on preservation; a winding maze filled with illusions and red herrings.
Self acceptance is not mutually exclusive with self-improvement, either. You must accept a situation (and you ARE a part of the situation) before you can begin to (effectively) maneuver through it or hope to have any real control. I will also say that as fluffy and counter intuitive as it seems, you get further with self-kindness and self-forgiveness. To mention the problem solving desire: there are enough problems standing in the way of what you want from life and outside sources, you don't need to imagine or create your own. Desire is not rooted in a lack of self-acceptance.
I don't believe in self-acceptance. I don't even know who came up with such a ridiculous term. Probably some clown who made a lot of money.
Originally Posted by Hephaestus
It can be an inner source of peace and strength. Without it, accomplishments will be limited to those which can be done in a nervous fit, or while depressed, or while some significant extrinsic payoff can be expected. I think those types of accomplishments usually aren't great.
I think Polemarch got close to the heart of the matter when he said that we're inherently incomplete. Taking that into account, "self-acceptance" is similar to viewing oneself as a static and finished product, not an evolving one.
It's not correct to contrast "acceptance" with "improvement". We're a combination of strengths and weaknesses, of assets and deficiencies. Whenever you propose to improve yourself, or a situation, or gain something in any way, you start by evaluating what your strengths and assets are. Only after you've done that do you think of your weaknesses. That's the positive viewpoint I think we need to face challenges. Not only personal ones, but also on collective levels. You start by assessing what you have in your favor.
I prefer to think of self-improvement in terms of positivity and negativity, or optimism and pessimism (fuck realism - that shit ain't real), than "acceptance" or "non-acceptance", which aren't useful or practical categories at all.
Possibly. But I'm not sold on the notion that the road to happiness is paved with accomplishments. So I am not sure it matters.
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