I accept myself completely.

I accept my strengths and my weaknesses,
my gifts and my shortcomings,
my good points and my faults.

I accept myself completely as a human being.

I accept that I am here to learn and grow,
and I accept that I am learning and growing.

I accept the personality I've developed,
and I accept my power to heal and change.

I accept myself without condition or reservation.

I accept that the core of my being is goodness
and that my essence is love,
and I accept that I sometimes forget that.

I accept myself completely, and in this acceptance
I find an ever-deepening inner strength.

From this place of strength, I accept my life fully
and I am open to the lessons it offers me today.

I accept that within my mind are both fear and love,
and I accept my power to choose
which I will experience as real.

I recognize that I experience only the results
of my own choices.

I accept the times that I choose fear
as part of my learning and healing process,
and I accept that I have the potential and power
in any moment to choose love instead.

I accept mistakes as a part of growth,
so I am always willing to forgive myself
and give myself another chance.

I accept that my life is the expression of my thought,
and I commit myself to aligning my thoughts
more and more each day with the Thought of Love.

I accept that I am an expression of this Love.

Love's hands and voice and heart on earth.

I accept my own life as a blessing and a gift.

My heart is open to receive, and I am deeply grateful.

May I always share the gifts that I receive
fully, freely, and with joy.

I value the life God has given to me
It is my life and I can live it as I please
My life may not mean much to someone else
And how I live it is up to God and myself

Only God knows how many years I have remaining
But I intend to live them all without complaining
I will treasure each day and rejoice in its pleasures
Practicing His righteousness as a means of measure

I will do my daily chores with a song in my heart
Singing God's praises until the day I depart
And while I am living out my disappearing years
I will be grateful to Him for putting me here

By Ellen Bailey

i love both these poems.

thanks anne and joost

A strong and positive sense of self is a foundation for immunization against depression but it is hard to build and maintain. Research has shown that the more roles people fill, the more sources of self-esteem they have; meaningful work has long been one of the most important ways to feel good about ourselves.

The type of depression that results from a low self-esteem is called characterological depression. This may occur in people who have feelings of inadequacy or inferiority: In other words, in people who have a low opinion or perception of themselves. They may feel that they are unliked by others and they anticipate being rejected.

In order to shake this type of depression, a person must be willing to bravely re-examine his attitudes, which now form part of his identity, and be willing to take a new personal inventory. This will take effort.

Joost

The most important work in life is not to produce but to maintain self-esteem. Don't think of self-esteem as an end goal; rather it is a lifelong psychological process. Think of self-esteem as a muscle, a mental muscle that must be developed and maintained through regular psychological workouts -- or you will be too vulnerable to depression.

Don't brood or avoid because those two behaviors kill self-esteem. "Don't take it personally" and "be strategic" are two of the pillars of self-esteem at work, so practice these behaviors as much as possible, especially in stressful situations. Thinking positive is one of the quickest ways to make you feel positive about yourself.