Shankar Vedantam argues that radical acceptance of your current circumstances, even unfair ones, creates the mental space to identify real changes you want to make. Stanford researcher Dave Evans explains that accepting what you cannot change is not surrender but a catalyst for growth.
Who do you want to be? Where do you want to go? What will your legacy be? You've probably grappled with questions like this at various points. But if you want to get the answers to these questions, there's something else you should do first. Wholeheartedly accept where you are right now. Even if you don't like where you are right now, or your circumstances feel unfair. Why is this so important? Dave Evans of Stanford University says that radical acceptance of our current circumstances can help us see what we want to change and how we might move toward our preferred future. Radical acceptance is not about settling or giving up. When we stop fighting what we cannot change, that's when we open up avenues for real growth. For more insights about the science of the mind, tune into Hidden Brain on Apple, Spotify, or hiddenbrain.org.
