Career Mission's Chief Executive Officer, A. Harrison Barnes discussed the importance of accepting who you are.

Harrison believes that if there are parts of yourself that you are denying and trying to suppress, they are going to come out in some fashion, at some time. We all have dark sides and one of the most important things you will ever do is get in touch with your own dark side. The better you control and understand how your dark side limits and controls you, the better you will do in life and in your career. It can be a supreme challenge to face and accept who you are, and to allow all the parts of your innermost self to be revealed, even those that hide down in the deep.

One of the worst things we can experience in the world is the kind of constant misery that comes from worrying about what others think about us, or what we think about ourselves. These worries can drain us of our energy entirely, consuming our whole focus. Self consciousness makes friendship and life, in general, a lot more difficult.

It is important that we learn to be comfortable with our thoughts and who we are, because we are calm when we are at ease with ourselves. Most of us feel for the most part ill at ease. The resistance to accepting and knowing the way we truly are is what causes this suffering. There is nothing wrong with experiencing your dark side. The moment you internally label your dark side as being “bad” and therefore unworthy of your attention and respect, you deprive yourself of an important life experience–that of being and knowing your true self.

In knowing and experiencing your true self, you can achieve a state of calm known as inner peace. And if you can achieve inner peace, you can pursue more vigorously all the goals of your life.