Ever noticed how hard it can be to truly accept a compliment? It got me thinking about the link between Self-Confidence and Self-Acceptance. In this blog, I explore how the struggle to feel confident often stems from not fully accepting ourselves, and why the journey inward might be the key to real, lasting change.
The other day, I received a message that genuinely took my breath away.
It was from someone I’ve only recently got to know, but who I respect and appreciate 😉. Their words were so complimentary, so full of respect and appreciation for who I am and what I bring into the world. You’d think it would have felt incredible. And in a way, it did. But my initial response? A polite, slightly deflective: “That’s lovely to hear.”
And then I closed the message.
I could feel it—the part of me pulling back from the warmth of their words. Almost like they were too much. Too intimate. Too kind. It wasn’t until later that evening, when I made myself sit down and re-read the message slowly, that I truly let it in. I let the words sink in to the parts of me that still doubt, still question, still feel unworthy of such recognition.
I realised how lucky I was that someone that not only felt that way about me but was willing to share it openly and how oddly difficult it had been to hear or to truly acknowledge it, and it clicked ‘if I fully accepted these parts of myself, would it be easier to accept compliments from others?’
This experience got me thinking about the many clients I support through hypnotherapy who come to me wanting more self-confidence. Whether it’s for driving tests, work presentations, or simply feeling “good enough” in their everyday lives. There’s a familiar theme that runs through them all: they’re not really lacking confidence—they’re lacking acceptance.
There’s a strange paradox in being human. We crave recognition, yet we struggle to receive it. We want to feel confident, yet we shrink away from compliments as if they’re a threat. Why? Because if deep down we haven’t accepted ourselves—our quirks, our flaws, our brilliance—then someone else’s praise clashes with our inner narrative. It doesn’t match the story we’ve been telling ourselves.
And that clash creates an internal resistance.
Confidence doesn’t come from the outside in. It flows from the inside out. You can dress it up, fake it, or force it—but if there’s a part of you that still doesn’t believe you’re worthy, that part will always sabotage the rest. The real journey is the one inward. To meet and embrace every corner of yourself. Especially the ones you’ve been hiding.
When self-acceptance clicks into place, something magical happens. You stop needing to prove yourself. You stop editing your personality to please others. And you begin to radiate something much deeper than confidence—you radiate wholeness.
And from that place, not only do you let others in—you finally let yourself in. All of you. Fully.
If this resonates with you and you’re curious about how Hypnotherapy could help deepen your level of self-acceptance and how that might look like in your own life, I invite you to book a free 20-minute consultation with me. We’ll explore where you’re at, what’s holding you back, and how hypnotherapy could help you reconnect with your true self.
📩 Book your free consultation here — I’d love to support you on your journey inward.
