Unconditional acceptance in psychology has been a highly studied area, like many other aspects of human personality and behavior. Carl Rogers affirmed that human beings had enormous potential within them and that their development depended, among other reasons, on unconditional acceptance of oneself and feeling unconditionally accepted by others.
The psychologist stated that these factors drive great strength in people to develop everything they have come to offer the world. If you want to know more about this aspect, in the following Psychology-Online article we will talk about what is unconditional acceptance in psychologyaccording to Carl Rogers, and we will explain how to work on unconditional acceptance in oneself and others.
What is unconditional acceptance according to Carl Rogers?
According to , The individual has within himself potential resources for his own understanding, change your self-concept, your attitudes and direct your behavior. For the author, the three fundamental elements that can help people self-manage and relate to others in an emotionally and psychologically healthy way are unconditional acceptance and authenticity.
In this specific case, we will focus on unconditional acceptance as that aspect of the human being that grants true freedom by freeing it from prejudices and cultural or ethical-religious conditioning. Unconditionally accepting someone, and even oneself, means love human beings no matter what.
This does not mean that we must accept our own inner evil or that manifested by others, but that we are able to accept others and ourselves, despite being aware of the faults that live within us. If you find it difficult to reach that state of balance, in this article you will find tools to help you.
What does unconditional acceptance represent?
Unconditional acceptance of one’s neighbor or oneself is the best impulse engine for people to trust themselves and in others and, therefore, fight tirelessly to improve as people and offer their best version to the world.
When a person is accepted unconditionally, the feeling of worth and confidence is such that all kinds of insecurities and fears disappear and, in a simple and pure way, all potential is manifested that said person harbors inside.
How to work on unconditional self-acceptance
As we just mentioned, accepting yourself unconditionally gives us great strength by consequently increasing confidence in ourselves and in our possibilities of action and manifestation.
Unconditional self-acceptance should not be separated from sobriety to clearly discern between the good being that we are, with great potential to offer the world, and everything that is not right within us. This unconditional acceptance involves devaluation, but also separation from pride and the illusion of believing our defects as virtues.
In this sense, positive unconditional acceptance presupposes the inner strength to feel empowered to give good things to the world, together with the tireless fight to get rid of bad habits, thoughts and behaviors. This measure is necessary so that everything we show is done in the best possible way.
When working on unconditional acceptance of oneself, it will be necessary to perform the following actions:
- Surround yourself with people who believe in the potential of human beings to hold on to them during the path of unconditional acceptance.
- See in other mirrorsboth everything that I must eliminate and all the other aspects that I must strengthen and improve.
- Be patient with yourselfunderstanding that the work of unconditional acceptance is not achieved overnight.
- Fight internal and unconscious mechanisms who will try to avoid this acceptance.
- Feeding on the unconditional acceptance of our neighborsthat is, what they feel about us, to continue walking the path.
- Recognize ourselves as beings with great potential, but still tangled in darkness that prevents us from manifesting ourselves in all our fullness. Furthermore, it is important to accept the firm commitment that, no matter what happens, you must continue forward in the process of personal improvement and development.
How to work on unconditional acceptance of others
How might unconditional positive acceptance be demonstrated? In the process of unconditionally accepting others, it is important to perform the following actions:
- Become aware that human beings have come into the world to deliver the great potential that lies within them for the benefit of others. Therefore, it is everyone’s responsibility to favor everything that facilitates the manifestation of all our potential, since these will be a guarantee of clear social improvement. In this sense, it is important to know.
- Focus our gaze on the virtues of our neighborsknowing that their “defects” are an insignificant part, and always modifiable and nullable, of what they really are.
- Have sobriety to support others in those aspects that are beneficial for your personal development. It is important to accompany and support them in their process of becoming aware and changing those negative aspects that, if they persist over time, can harm them.
- Show great patience and sobriety with others, understanding that, like ourselves, they long to be free of the negative. All this constitutes a process that must be properly sustained.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Cervera, AM ACCOMPANY, AN UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE.
- Henderson, RR, & Madriz, LFV (2012). Dialectical behavior therapy: Overview of an approach focused on unconditional acceptance. Social Sciences Magazine(137).