Aellyce

Thanks a lot, Patcha. Many people say the same, but I still struggle with seeing it similarly myself (after a childhood of being praised/awarded for my writing abilities and then two decades of practicing it in foreign languages as an adult) - I'm so perfectionistic. Including that English is not my first language... I've been living in English-speaking regions of the world now >15 years (unfortunately starting in my late 20s, so I'll never lose my accent). Now I'm stuck with being reasonably proficient in two languages to the extent that I think and even dream in both, I capitalize on my language and writing skills so I take jobs improving others' products in both languages. I now even have quite a strong preference for my second language, but still feel I'll never be able to reach the literary qualities and standards I love in many others' writing, because of this developmentally delayed bilingual experience. I actually often don't proofread my online posts and causal messages because I feel so liberated by not caring about smaller errors and sloppiness in style. But I've made peace with it by now, more or less.

Sorry for the distraction, but it reminds me of many SMART tools, especially in the self- and other-acceptance domains. SMART is big on this thing called "unconditional self, other, and life acceptance", which has always been a bear for me... even to truly comprehend what "unconditional" can mean and imply practically. In some ways, "unconditional" tends to clash with most things I know about human nature... but I see it's being discussed in SMART all the time and would like to be able to get closer to it, if really possible.