Acceptance

Acceptance in human psychology is a person's assent to the reality of a situation, recognizing a process or condition (often a negative or uncomfortable situation) that is a fait accompli without attempting to change it or protest it. The concept is close in meaning to acquiescence, derived from the Latin acquiēscere (to find rest in). The term acceptance is a noun with various different meanings. When the person to whom a proposal is made signifies their assent, it is an "acceptance" of their offer, also called an agreement. For example, if someone gives a gift and another receives it, then they have accepted the gift; therefore, having acceptance. Another definition of acceptance is related to positive welcome and belonging, favor, and endorsement: one approves of something. For instance, one can like someone and accept them due to their approval of that person. Another description is that acceptance can be an act of believing or assenting. The definition overlaps with toleration, but acceptance and tolerance are not synonyms. In contract law, acceptance is "[a]n express act or implication by conduct that manifests assent to the terms of an offer in a manner invited or required by the offer so that a binding contract is formed. The exercise of power conferred by an offer by performance of some act. The act of a person to whom something is offered or tendered by another, whereby the offered demonstrates through an act invited by the offer an intention of retaining the subject of the offer." Eckhart Tolle, a spiritual teacher, defines acceptance as a "surrender to the Now" response to anything occurring in any moment of life. To simplify, acceptance means allowing; allowing unwanted private experiences (thoughts, feelings, and urges) to come and go without struggling with them. Acceptance is treating whatever happens, the actual event which is the outcome of all combined previous events, as something that is either positive or neutral. Acceptance typically contains the concept of approval; the psycho-spiritual use of the term implies a non-judgmental mindset.