Ep 48: Wisdom to Know the Difference

The Serenity Prayer (“Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to tell the difference”) counsels us to accept the things that we cannot change. But often, the things that we say we cannot change are actually 100% within our control. In this episode, we explore whether something is truly out of our control or if we just prefer to believe that it is. 

Takeaways

1. We may choose to believe that a situation is out of our control to avoid doing the hard work of change.
2. Taking responsibility for what we are, in fact, choosing gives us the ability to choose differently.
3. Being honest with ourselves about what we are actually getting from a “bad” situation may allow us to find other ways to serve those needs.
4. Ensuring that you are acting in alignment with your core values can help you stay on a more meaningful path, especially when your judgement is feeling cloudy.

Lab Experiment (download a copy)

Identify a situation in your life that you’re not happy with and make 4 lists.

1. What’s not working:  Is it not creating the desired results, is it costing you too much, or creating consequences?
2. What is working: How is the status quo actually serving you? What are you getting from this situation that you want or feel you need?
3. What I can’t control:  Make sure the things you’re putting on this list are truly things that you have no control over.  
4. Actions I can take: Refer back to what’s working/not working for ideas and inspiration.