Self-acceptance means accepting that I am human and having reasonable expectations.

When I say “self-acceptance,” I mean to acknowledge that I am human and an acceptance of what it means to be human.  This many sound silly, but very few people want to be human – they want to be better than human – they have an expectation of being human that is unrealistic.

If I expect my dog to make my coffee every morning, I am likely to be disappointed.  And, no matter how much I train him, it is likely that he will fall short of my expectations, and it will be harder and harder to love him, no matter how much I “accept” his shortcomings.  But, he is not a slacker, or unmotivated, or uncommitted – he’s a dog!

Can you see how important it is to have reasonable expectations about what it means to be a dog?  Can you see how it would be important to have reasonable expectations about what it means to be human?

I don’t mean “reasonable” in the common word-usage of the world where people are arguing for their limitations.  I mean reasonable like: a cat doesn’t open a checking account, a mouse won’t cook dinner, and a human’s life won’t be neat, tidy, or under control.