Taking Accountability: Accepting the Unacceptable

Picking the blame from a situation is easy when you’re the one pointing fingers. Taking accountability for your actions is like saying, “I misunderstood myself. How can I resolve what’s troubled me?” Life is challenging enough with obstacles occurring our of our control. It’s extremely important to be slow to our anger, and understand where we can begin to lean on God and not on our own judgment.

Being dismissive towards your actions is wrong, and leads you to suppressing your emotions. We see an example of this in Genesis, with the story of Cain and Abel. Cain’s jealousy toward his younger brother was the reason he lost control of himself. He became envious of how God worked with Abel, and thought he was more responsible and superior than Abel. After Abel was slain, Cain could not even accept that he was the killer. He refused to answer God when he asked where was Abel, and angrily asked ‘Am I my brother’s keeper? Why should I know where he is?”

Misunderstanding yourself will lead to self-destruction. The act of disregarding your feelings and avoiding responsibility with yourself can lead you to feeling lost, and in a state of anger or frustration. Being hard on yourself, as well as putting your emotions before your intentions, can be detrimental towards your relationships and development. God wants us to come to Him. He has the knowledge and power to assist our needs, all we need to do is seek Him.

Self-Reflection: Diving into Discipline

There are many outlets you can use to help you heal. Being consistent with your growth is beneficial to your way of living. Having resources to turn to will lead you to your journey in self reflection, and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide you towards your purpose.

Seeking help within yourself can come from:

Journaling 

Being intentional with your self growth comes from how much you’re willing to address with yourself. Writing down your goals gives you something to look forward to, and allows you to reflect on your passion. Using journal prompts can help you address certain areas you need to improve.

Support Groups 

Reaching out to your loved ones can help you verbalize your problems and get a second opinion. Talking to friends, family or a trusted guardian allows you to be vulnerable, and accept advice on how you can approach the problem and get rid of your stress. Using anonymous forums online to express yourself can also be useful if you would like something temporary, and private to let it all out through.

Productivity 

Incorporating activity into your routine can improve your mood and balance yourself. Whether it be yoga, sight seeing different parts of your area or using your hobbies can help you put your attention away from your stressors. Adding activities that are hands on or stimulate your brain can help you learn new skills and relieve yourself from your problems.

Acknowledging your wrongs can help you grow into your higher self. God didn’t call His children to be perfect. He knew that with free will, anything could happen within our world. Overcoming sin, spiritual warfare and inconsistency is something that is out of our control. God’s mercy exists so we can get past our mistakes. Realizing how we can improve can motivate you to move forward and adapt to a better lifestyle.

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It’s easy to forget to do simple tasks to improve your health.

Did you drink water?

Have you eaten anything?

Are you being gentle with yourself?

Did you talk to God today?

These questions help us keep track of different parts of our health. Physical health consists of your diet, your body, and your flesh. It keeps you moving, breathing, and active in your daily routine. Incorporating the right nutrition and activities can help you maintain balanced and sustainable health for your body. Mental health is an important part of our health. It regulates our mood and attitude and affects our overall performance for others and ourselves. Taking care of your physical and mental health is essential to a productive way of living. 

Why Prioritize Physical and Mental Health

There is a noticeable difference when your physical and mental health isn’t taken care of. Catering to both is essential for your overall health. Ultimately, neglecting one area of your health affects the other. Being attentive to your needs is important when it comes to self-care. The Bible teaches us how complex our spirit is and the types of fruits we should bear to sustain ourselves thoroughly while embodying Christ.

Galatians 5:22-23 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentle-ness, and self-control (NLT)

Our bodies can only handle so much at a time. Without the proper care and treatment, your physical health can suffer and stop you from your day-to-day activities. With the right tools and resources, you can improve your well-being for the better.

Taking supplements can lead to an increase in your health. Being consistent with what your body needs helps maintain a healthy lifestyle. Additions to your diet, such as vitamins, vegetables, or even water, can lead to a better environment for your body. A few of the benefits of vitamin D are that it can improve your mood and reduce inflammation and cell growth. Implementing better foods into your diet can assist in body regulations and decrease the need to take supplemental vitamins.

“ Without sufficient vitamin D, bones can become thin, brittle, or misshapen. Vitamin D sufficiency prevents rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults. Together with calcium, vitamin D also helps protect older adults from osteoporosis.

Vitamin D has other roles in the body, including reduction of inflammation as well as modulation of such processes as cell growth, neuromuscular and immune function, and glucose metabolism.”[1]

The Steps to a Stronger Spirit: Taking Care of Your Mental Health

Taking care of your mental health is essential to a balanced way of living. A positive mindset allows you to seek opportunities for yourself and be open to change within yourself and with others. However, we can’t control our bad days, which can sometimes affect our mood. The common causes of poor mental health are trauma, stress, or poor routines such as addictions, bad sleep schedules, or refusing to reach out. 

“Although lifestyle factors including work, diet, drugs and lack of sleep can all affect your mental health, if you experience a mental health problem there are usually other factors as well.”

Engaging with your community can help improve your mental health. Seeking therapy has been beneficial for people in need. As a college student, I can guarantee that going to therapy has helped me through some of my worst times as a black woman. Therapy looks different for everyone. Whether self-care, going to church, or talking to a trusted individual is a great step toward a better mindset.

Doing small activities can also help distance yourself from stressors or hardships in your life. Going for a walk is one exercise that gets you active, allowing you to look at the world outside your perspective. Nature walks, exploring, and sightseeing are great ways to admire the world around you and take in life one moment at a time. 

A personal take on self care

As an aspiring journalist, I can’t forget to mention how powerful writing has been for me. Using writing as a safe space to share my thoughts has been the most relieving activity I have taken part in. It may not be for everyone, but I assure you that journaling to express your feelings is a great way to contribute to a better mindset. 

Balancing your physical and mental health is essential to a healthy way of living. It’s challenging trying to navigate life without help, whether it be from your neighbor or from God. But it will get better with patience, prayer, and an open mind. Taking the first step to improving your lifestyle will be a life long journey. The outcome of your efforts will be an experience you’ll never forget, and will allow you to bear results you will be grateful for.  

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Sources

1. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/#:~:text=Together%20with%20calcium%2C%20vitamin%20D,metabolism%20%5B1%2D3%5D.
2. https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/mental-health-problems-introduction/causes/

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Self-Acceptance

Accepting Jesus Christ is the rite of passage for every Christian. It builds faith and promotes trust and consistency between you and God. But how many of you have accepted yourselves?

Denying yourself can be harmful to your well-being. This can consist of self-depreciation, neglect, shame, anger, and other forms of hatred people put on themselves. Lacking self-esteem can affect how we receive help and talk to other people. 

God wants His children to be confident in themselves. He has trusted us and called us into this world for a purpose. He destined a path that only we can pave the way to. Trusting yourself is important to achieve what you desire. 

Throughout the Bible, it has been shown that God’s assistance and guidance never stray from his children. He always keeps an eye on us and makes sure that we’re taken care of. How could we be at His service if we don’t have faith in ourselves?

If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31

Faith in God

I believe that having faith in God and yourself goes hand in hand. We see that even God’s trusted prophets have lacked their faith and let their surroundings push them away from their devotion to God. The book of Matthew shares a story of how the prophets were afraid of the storm while Jesus lay in the boat sleeping. They grow weary and fearful of the unknown, letting their acceptance of the world cloud their acceptance of Jesus. 

Accepting God’s Help

It’s easy to associate yourself with someone if you know you’ll benefit from that relationship. Many people see God as a provider and believe that simply believing in Him is enough to receive good fortune. However, it’s important to be selfless and intentional with God. Having a strong foundation will change how you seek God’s help. Building a genuine connection with Him will help strengthen your faith and improve your mindset. 

Having the reassurance that you can make it through your life is important to your growth. As Christians, we’re going to go through trials and tribulations back to back. Mental health is largely based on how we see ourselves and is affected by how we can procure help when needed. Taking that step to build self-acceptance can go a long way for you in many areas. 

Self-acceptance allows God to make an impact through you. The Enemy seeks nothing but our demise as we fall into sin and neglect ourselves. But God calls us to be diligent and faithful to his word and guard our hearts from what the flesh is exposed to. 

With time and discipline, self-acceptance can become essential to your relationship with God.

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