Reclaim your life
1. God grant me the serenity
Serenity means calmness. When we lack serenity, we tend to feel stressful and agitated. It’s difficult to make sensible decisions when in this negative state of mind. When we are stressed, we are likely to act impulsively and on our emotions.
Doing so can have far-reaching negative consequences. Asking for serenity is a wise decision, particularly when you are about to act in a way that could result in long-term emotional or physical harm.
2. To accept the things I cannot change
Although accepting the things you cannot change makes logical sense, each one of us is guilty of chastising ourselves or obsessing over things that we are not in any way capable or likely to influence.
The word ‘accept’ is also significant because to accept means you are accepting the present moment without any resistance of any kind. The word ‘accept’ hints at your emotional ability to bear and even accept hardship that’s not immediately within your power to change.
Attempting to control the uncontrollable will always result in either absolute failure or results that are far from ideal. To do so is an unprofitable use of your time and energy. Some of us are entirely consumed in attempting to alter things outside our control. The sadness is that many of us are not aware that we are attempting to change something that simply cannot be changed.
3. The courage to change the things I can
One significant thing you can change is yourself. Whilst change may take a lot of effort, determination and pain, a positive transformation of yourself is definitely something that is within the realm of possibility. This reasoning is highly empowering and perhaps where the power of the Serenity Prayer is most apparent. Whilst personal change is possible, nobody said it is going to be easy. Change is usually difficult and even painful for most. Change almost always requires significant personal sacrifice in multiple areas of your life. Lasting change also requires substantial self-determination and self-examination. Demanding a level of personal responsibility is about taking ownership of the things you are able to change. Personal change means you must take radical responsibility for all aspects of your life. This includes setting boundaries of what you will and what not accept from others. Doing so means you are able to enforce matters that are within your realm of control. In time, you will truly become your own master in ways that may seem entirely alien to you given your previous record in this area. Taking a radical level of personal responsibility has the potential to significantly alter your life’s course for the better.
5. And the wisdom to know the difference
For many, this last sentence of the Serenity Prayer is the most significant. Why? Because knowing the difference between what we can change and what we cannot is, in practical terms, never that straightforward. This may be because many of our decisions are driven by emotion rather than logic. This means most of us are guilty of trying to change things we are unable to change whilst neglecting the things that could actually make a difference.
Perhaps this is because, at some deep psychological level, we are afraid to implement things that we know are capable of instigating changes to how we live our lives, even if those changes are well within our best interest. The old saying is true that people are generally afraid of change.
Knowing this distinction between what we can and cannot change is often a prerequisite for enacting lasting positive change. It also allows us to focus our efforts on areas we are capable of influencing whilst allowing us to avoid wasting our precious time and energy on areas we are simply unable to change.
The word ‘wisdom’ means the same as knowledge and experience. If you have faith, you will gain this wisdom with time. Reciting the Serenity Prayer will help to instill this wisdom into your thoughts almost unconsciously. The word ‘wisdom’ is interchangeable with the word ‘ability’ or ‘skill’, so it may be argued the Serenity Prayer isn’t so much a prayer but more a set of instructions for successful living.