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Emory | Wellness > Mental Health

Should You Improve or Accept Yourself?

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Megna Solipuram Student Contributor, Emory University
Manishka Daryanani Student Contributor, Emory University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Emory chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

My entire life I have always lived by the philosophy that if you CAN do better, you SHOULD do better. I believed that growth was this eternal concept and that there was always room for improvement. Although self-improvement is an excellent tool and way of life, it’s something that can be utilized incorrectly if you take it to extremes.

 

Like if you’re trying to strive for unattainable perfection

 

Or when you assume there’s something inherently broken in yourself

 

Or when you don’t make a realistic distinction between what you can and can’t control

I was under the impression that any form of self-acceptance was a parallel to laziness or complacency and that if I wasn’t growing I was being stagnant. But self acceptance is just having that distinction between the things you can and cannot control and really accepting what you can’t. It’s about loving the flaws that make you unique and being okay with where you are in the process of growth. Nobody’s perfect, so be proud of yourself every once in a while!

Hong Kong born and raised, Manishka is widely known for two things – her clumsiness and her ability to spend hours laughing at her own jokes! When she’s not busy trying to find out how she got her latest bruise, she can usually be found eating an avocado, while re-watching Gossip Girl for the 6th…no… 7th time! Her hobbies include raiding the fridge, stalking Doug the Pug on Instagram and trying to find out the secret ingredient in Krabby Patties.