The Acceptance Toolkit

Observe

• Approach with openness and curiosity towards the feeling, instead of avoidance ("Observe like a curious scientist").
• "I’m having a feeling of..."
• "This is a feeling of _____ and I’m evaluating it as _____."

Breathe

• Many find breathing into a feeling enables one to make room for it.
• Use slow, diaphragmatic breathing (AKA belly breathing).

Expand

• Notice how you may be constricting or pushing down the feeling.
• Metaphorically make room for the feeling
• Create space, open up, or expand the space for the feeling to flow
• All feelings, given space and time, will rise, crest and fade like a wave

Allow

• Give it permission to be what it already is.
• Explore feelings as simply part of being human, neither good or bad, right or wrong.

Objectify

• Turn that feeling into an object; it helps us experience that this feeling is not bigger than we are.
• We have plenty of room for it
• Visualize feelings as objects: shape, color, weight, temperature, texture, etc.

Normalize

• It is normal and natural to have painful feelings—it is an inevitable part of being human.

Show Self-Compassion

• Being kind and caring towards yourself as you allow yourself to experience the feeling.

Expand Awareness

• When we are too intently focused on our feelings, they get in the way of living life.
• Broaden your awareness to include sensations, both inside and from the environment
• Notice how the feeling is one part of your greater experience in the moment