Self-Acceptance: A Path to a Better Social Life

According to Carl Jung, a psychologist from the school of psychoanalysis who developed his own theory about the components of personality, personality consists of several components, including the persona, or mask personality. This means that everyone has their own personality, but this personality usually wears a mask. In other words, there is always a particular way in which we present ourselves to the world. In this article, I will discuss self-acceptance and how it contributes to a better social life.

The word “personality” is derived from a Latin word meaning “mask.” We are, of course, using it figuratively rather than referring to the literal meaning of a mask. Personality represents all the different social masks we wear among different groups and in different situations. This mask serves us by hiding parts of ourselves that do not fit the environment, or sometimes parts we do not like about ourselves—perhaps because our environment also led us to dislike them and did not encourage us to accept ourselves and present ourselves naturally.

What prevents us from accepting ourselves?

From an early age, we learned that if we were our true selves, the people around us would not accept us or might criticize us. This leads us to hide genuine parts of ourselves so that our surrounding environment will accept us. Ultimately, each of us needs to feel loved and accepted. Otherwise, how could we live in this world?

Children feel this need especially strongly. When we are children, we fear not behaving as expected, which leads us to reject ourselves. We believe that the people around us will not love us, and if they do not love us, they will not care for us. If they do not care for us, we might die. Here, we do not necessarily mean physical death. There are other forms of death that are no less painful, such as emotional or spiritual death.

We all fear this kind of “death”: living in a world where the people around us do not see us, love us, or want us. Unfortunately, over the years, we continually learn to hide genuine parts of ourselves, reinforce our lack of self-acceptance, and wear the mask so that we can remain loved and survive. In this way, the personality develops as a social mask that contains all the primitive impulses and emotions considered socially unacceptable. But what happens after many years?

We lose our true selves. We lose ourselves simply because we are afraid!

How can I accept myself as I am?

Your mental well-being, peace along your path, and the health of your relationships all begin with accepting every genuine and authentic part of yourself:

• Accept yourself, with both your strengths and your weaknesses.
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• Be free to be yourself. You may notice that some people are repelled by you and move away from you. They may mock you as though they are trying to return you to the false path. You may lose people along this new path, but do not be afraid. You will invite new people onto it—people who accept every part of your true self. In doing so, you gain yourself, your freedom, and honest, healthy relationships.
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• Do not allow this fear to become stronger than your desire to achieve your goals, or stronger than your wish to choose a life partner who loves every genuine part of you.

Also read the article “This Is My Personality,” and join the Tatmeen online psychological counseling platform. Receive guidance through self-help programs that support self-acceptance, or speak with leading psychotherapists, including specialists in social, marital, family, and other fields. Join here for free.