Self-acceptance and authenticity go hand-in-hand, so much so, that you can’t really have one without the other. This is true in all aspects of your life, including your business and marketing strategy. Let’s look at a few reasons why you need to accept yourself before your authenticity can shine, along with a few methods to increase your self-acceptance.

You can’t be authentic if you don’t know yourself

If you don’t accept your full self, you may suppress parts you don’t like or that you think aren’t marketable. But holding back, or trying to present an “acceptable” image isn’t authenticity. In truth, what you perceive as imperfections are part of what makes you uniquely you. What you perceive as negative parts of your past are still a part of your story. If you suppress or repress these parts of you, you will not know your full self. And how can you be authentic if you don’t know the real you? This is a major reason self-acceptance is crucial to authenticity.

You can’t sell yourself if you don’t like yourself

If you don’t accept yourself, you aren’t able to genuinely like yourself. It’s like saying to yourself that you only like some of you but don’t like other parts. This feels bad because deep down, we all want to be liked and loved for all of our parts, even the less than perfect ones. If you don’t like yourself, it will not be easy to sell yourself to others. These days, your personal brand and your business brand are inextricably intertwined. If you don’t have self-acceptance, you will not be able to market yourself authentically, which can be a big turnoff for today’s buyers.

You can’t finish the job if you demand perfection

Frequently, a lack of self-acceptance shows itself as perfectionism. If you don’t love your real self, you might hold yourself to an impossible standard to believe that you’re “good enough.” This is no way to live! Instead, accept yourself as human and understand that what you produce will never be perfect. Can you imagine having a boss who wanted you to be?? So don’t hold that boss role for yourself. If you want to get work done and build a thriving, authentic business, you have to embrace self-acceptance and drop the perfectionism.

WAYS TO BEGIN THE SELF-ACCEPTANCE JOURNEY

So now you know why self-acceptance is so important, but how do you get to a place of self-acceptance? Remember that it’s a process, not an instant thing. Each time you step toward accepting yourself, you build this muscle. Do it enough times and one day it will happen with ease.

You can start with mindfulness. This can mean a daily meditation practice. Or it can be as simple as catching yourself when negative emotions arise, particularly if those negative emotions are towards yourself.

That leads to my next tip: positive self-talk. If you notice harmful thoughts that aren’t true, replace them with positive ones. Recognize your strengths and repeat them to yourself. If you don’t know your strengths, ask a friend, family member or colleague what they are, then remind yourself when you are tempted to beat yourself up.

But it’s also important to be honest. If your negative thoughts pointed out a true weakness of yours, you don’t have to go down a rabbit hole of negativity just because you have a weak spot. You are human and we all have them. Instead, acknowledge to yourself that yes, this is a weakness of yours. Admitting it is a big part of accepting it. Now that you can see it clearly, you have more choice about working with, or around, that weakness.

My final tip is to stop comparing yourself to others. It is hard to accept yourself when you think of life as a competition. Remember that social media and magazines do not show the whole story of someone’s life. When you believe that someone is doing better than you, remind yourself that you aren’t seeing the whole story. You don’t know their internal struggles. You never know, they could be jealous of something that you’ve been able to create for yourself that they cannot. It’s all about being satisfied with where you are, even as you grow towards being more.

Self-acceptance is a daily practice, but the more you try to accept yourself fully, the more authentic your marketing will be — and the happier the rest of your life will be!