A way to think about acceptance is to by disconnecting it from the change one seeks to make. Acceptance then can become the skill to stay in the moment and notice the situation one is in. It’s accepting it.

Accepting also is taking the moment in without judging the situation and noticing what it is made of.

Such noticing enables a full appreciation of the situation. It’s how the ability to decide what can be changed unfolds.

There is enough time between noticing and responding to choose whatever it is one wants to do. Reacting to a judgment we might have of that situation doesn’t leave that time-span. It becomes resisting what exists and using how things should be as a starting point.