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14 Acceptance Quotes for Inner Peace

Acceptance is a powerful tool that can help us achieve our goals, live a better life, and find a sense of peace within ourselves. By recognizing the reality of ourselves and the world around us, we can create an environment of understanding, compassion, and growth.

Often misunderstood, acceptance does not have to mean that we support or condone things that aren’t how we wish they were. Acceptance and support are two distinct concepts: The first is about understanding our reality while the second provides active assistance. That said, acceptance isn’t passive. On the contrary, it can be quite difficult, but it’s only once we see things as they truly are that we can begin to make meaningful change. Acknowledging and internalizing difficult truths gives us an informed position from which to take powerful action.

Acceptance allows us to open up our minds to new possibilities, take risks, and explore the unknown. It also helps us to recognize our strengths and weaknesses so that we can move forward with confidence. Through acceptance, we can learn to appreciate the beauty of what is,  and find peace within ourselves.

If you feel called to be more accepting in your life, we offer up these 15 quotes to get you started. May they inspire you to embrace a deeper understanding of the world around you.

Nothing brings down walls as surely as acceptance.
Deepak Chopra

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Belonging starts with self-acceptance… Believing that you’re enough is what gives you the courage to be authentic.
Brené Brown

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The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.
Nathaniel Branden, psychotherapist and writer

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Happiness can exist only in acceptance.
George Orwell

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To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.
Thích Nhất Hạnh

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Nothing I accept about myself can be used against me to diminish me.
Audre Lorde, writer and activist

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The greatest gift that you can give to others is the gift of unconditional love and acceptance.
Brian Tracy, motivational speaker

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My happiness grows in direct proportion to my acceptance, and in inverse proportion to my expectations.
Michael J. Fox

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Self-acceptance begets acceptance from others, which begets even deeper, more genuine self-acceptance. It can be done. But no one is going to bestow it on you. It is a gift only you can give yourself.
Camryn Manheim, actress

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You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with courage and with the best that you have to give.
Eleanor Roosevelt

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If I could define enlightenment briefly I would say it is “the quiet acceptance of what is.”
Wayne Dyer, motivational speaker

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Accept — then act. Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it.
Eckhart Tolle, spiritual teacher and author

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Accept yourself, love yourself, and keep moving forward.
Roy Bennett, Zimbabwean politician

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Much of spiritual life is self-acceptance, maybe all of it.
Jack Kornfield, writer and Buddhist teacher

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Photo credit: Jerod Harris/ Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

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About the Author
Meghan Neal
Inspiring Quotes editor, cat-lover, and coast-hopper living in Brooklyn, New York.
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