Self-esteem is a popular word that is used in self-improvement. People strive to have self-esteem (feeling good about yourself). Having confidence in our own abilities or worth. The key is that we evaluate our worth. This is not a great concept to help people.

Self-acceptance on the other hand allows you to be aware of both strengths and weaknesses. But allows you to accept all of them. It allowing your to not have to wish you were different than you actually are.

So how can we increase our self-acceptance:

1) Practice gratitude - This forces you to focus on the positive things in your life. Be grateful for what you have. you then begin to ignore the negative.

2) Celebrate your strengths - Think about the things you are good at and focus on them. Do not spend time on the things you are not good at.

3) Help others - Being unselfish can help you feel good. When we help others, there is actually chemical reactions that happens in the body. We can also feel better about ourselves when we help other people. Sometimes it just feels good to help others.

4) Don't Take Things Personally - It's not all about you. When people are critical, they are the one with the issue. When someone is mean, they are the one with the anger problem. It's not your issue.

5) Lower Your Expectations - Are your expectations too high? The answer is yes if you are not accepting yourself. It's ok to have goals but when your expectations are too high, you will never meet them. If you require yourself to meet your own expectations in order to be happy, it's a losing proposition.

6) Surround yourself with positive people - You should take inventory of those around you. If the people around you are not supportive or are negative, consider not being around them or reduce how much time you do spend with them.