Self-Acceptance and Self-Esteem: What's the Difference?
Both self-acceptance and self-esteem play a role in how you view and value yourself. They are related but they describe different aspects of how one views and responds to themselves. Understanding the difference between the two can help you develop a more balanced view of yourself.
Self-Acceptance and Self-Esteem
Self-acceptance is about acknowledging yourself as a whole person, including strengths, weaknesses and imperfections, without self-judgement. It does not mean believing that there is no need for self-improvement or giving up on personal growth. For example, you recognize that you make mistakes or struggle in a particular situation but without seeing yourself as an incapable or unworthy person. Self-acceptance can also involve accepting difficult thoughts and emotions without judging yourself for having them. Research indicates that accepting thoughts and emotions without judgement is associated with better psychological well-being and less negative emotional responses to stress [1].
In simple terms, self-acceptance is simply saying:
"I can accept myself as I am while still working on the areas I want to improve".
Self-esteem is about how you evaluate your own worth or value. It can involve how you view your abilities, value and worth. It can be influenced by experiences like success, failure, criticism, praise, relationships and comparison with others. For example, success may strengthen positive self-evaluation while criticism or failure may negatively affect it. Research suggests that self-esteem is associated with psychological well-being and how people feel about their overall quality of life [2].
In simple terms, self-esteem is about asking:
"How do I see and value myself?"
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| Credit: Psychology In Life |
How Are They Related?
Although self-acceptance and self-esteem are related but they are not the same. They both can shape how you see yourself and respond to your strengths, weaknesses and life experiences. Research indicates that both are related but not synonymous, suggesting that they both represent different aspects of how you view yourself [3]. Self-acceptance involves recognizing your strengths and weaknesses without judging your whole worth based on them, while self-esteem is about how you evaluate your own worth and abilities.
For example, you may make a mistake but still accept yourself as a whole, while recognizing how you could handle the situation differently next time. At the same time, how you evaluate your performance may affect your self-esteem. In this way, self-acceptance and self-esteem can work together. Both can help you develop a healthier and more balanced view of yourself.
Can You Have Self-Acceptance without High Self-Esteem?
Yes, you can have self-acceptance without high self-esteem. Self-acceptance and self-esteem are related but they do not always develop at the same level [4]. A person may accept their weaknesses while still feeling unsure about their abilities or worth. For example, a person may know and accept that they are shy while still wanting to feel more comfortable in social situations. They accept this difficulty while working on becoming more confident in social situations. The goal is not specifically to feel highly positive about every aspect of oneself. Rather, self-acceptance is about developing a more realistic and balanced view of oneself.
Self-Acceptance and Self-Esteem in Daily Life
Self-acceptance and self-esteem can both shape how you respond to daily life's experiences. Self-acceptance can help you handle mistakes without being overly self-critical, while self-esteem can influence how confident you feel about your abilities and worth. Together, both can contribute to a healthier and more balanced view of yourself.
For example, after making a mistake, a person can accept that they made a mistake without viewing themself as a failure. At the same time, recognizing their past achievements and skills can help them maintain confidence in their abilities.
How to Develop Self-Acceptance and Self-Esteem
A few practices can help develop self-acceptance and self-esteem, which include:
Self-Acceptance
- Accept your strengths and weaknesses
- Avoid harsh self-judgement
- Allow imperfections
- Learn from mistakes
Self-Esteem
- Recognize your abilities
- Acknowledge your progress
- Avoid comparing yourself constantly
- Do not link your worth to success
Related: How to Practice Self-Acceptance in Daily Life
Final Thoughts
Self-acceptance and self-esteem are related but not the same. Developing self-acceptance can help acknowledge strengths, weaknesses and imperfections without being overly self-critical. Developing self-esteem can help recognize abilities, progress and personal worth. Both can support a healthier and balanced view of yourself.