Serenity, Courage, & Wisdom...

"God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference."

~The Serenity Prayer

Easy enough to say, right? I'm wondering how many of you reading this can really, when it comes down to it, accept things you cannot change? If you remember back a few months, I did a series on boundaries (you can link to all previous posts on boundaries here and here). Remember, having healthy boundaries means that we are responsible only for our own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors (and not taking responsibility for those of others). 

Do you have the wisdom to know what you can change? Can you develop the peace of mind to let go of those things you can't?

I tell my clients to develop a phrase to say in situations where boundaries come in to play, so the idea can be reinforced. Additionally, I think it's easier to not butt in to conversations we try to control when we can repeat something else silently in our head over and over. The serenity prayer would work well in these situations.

I think about how much time wasted, energy used, stress, anxiety, depression, and broken relationships result from people not knowing the difference between what they can change and what they cannot change. We can only change ourselves, but we often forget that. I challenge you to think about what you are trying to change that you can't. I challenge you to try to let those things go. If you can't, it will only lead to frustrations. I challenge you to take responsibility for the things that you can change. 

Serenity, Courage, Wisdom...