Acceptance vs. Tolerance
Written by Scott Noelle.
Acceptance is one of your greatest sources of Power. Without it, you couldn’t receive or own anything, handle unexpected change, or listen effectively.
In general, acceptance means being at peace with What Is. When you refuse to accept something, you sacrifice your peace.
Non-acceptance creates resistance and shifts your focus away from what you want, toward what you don’t want.
Can you see, then, how you disempower and undermine yourself when you deem your child’s behavior “unacceptable”?
It’s entirely possible to accept something while choosing not to tolerate it. For example, if your child were trying to hit you, you could accept (make peace with) that — even while using protective force to prevent the hitting.
The difference is how you feel in the process:
- Tolerance without acceptance leads to resentment.
- Tolerance with acceptance leads to appreciation.
- INtolerance without acceptance leads to conflict.
- INtolerance with acceptance leads to creativity.
In other words, when you accept What Is — AND you’re clear that you want a change — it’s easy to solve problems creatively.