Denis Waitley sums it up pretty well when he says that there are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist or accept the responsibility for changing them. When you get to the root of it, it really is as simple as that, isn’t it? But that doesn’t mean it is always easy. Sometimes we slip into the trap of expecting someone else to accept responsibility for changing our circumstances or we spend time wishing we could just stop the ‘bus of life’ and get off for a while. We know neither is likely or possible, so let’s take Key Steps to…
Accept and act on our choices
- Apply the serenity prayer. You have likely heard the serenity prayer before… God, please grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can and the wisdom to know the difference. Very powerful, isn’t it? Take a look at the circumstances and conditions of your life that you are not happy with and often complain about… it could be long working hours, friends who take advantage of you, lousy weather, horrendous traffic, red tape at work or when dealing with clients, not enough time with your kids, a noisy new neighbour, technology dominating many kids play time, etc. etc. Now ask yourself which ones you can really do something about? And do you choose to? If not, let them go… now! Your health is not worth sacrificing by putting your stress levels up over things you cannot control.
- What’s the first easy step to affect change? Realise that accepting responsibility for changing your circumstances could be easier than you think. Maybe all it would take is going across to talk to your neighbour, leaving 15 minutes earlier in the morning to avoid traffic or listening to an audio CD in the car, start saying NO to friends and put yourself first, etc. Take the first Key Step today and…
