At some point during my first year or so of sobriety, someone shared with me a version of the serenity prayer that has been really helpful to me:
Grant me the serenity
to accept the people I cannot change,
the courage to change the one I can,
and the wisdom to know it's me.
When drinking was my answer to everything, and even when I first sobered up, I liked to look at the problems in everyone else. I looked for the ways that OTHER people needed to change. I have since learned that applying the serenity prayer in my life - both the original and this version - helps me to focus on what I CAN change - me.
I cannot control what other people do. I can't control how people drive on the common roadways, I can't control what my husband says and does, and I can't control what people post on an anonymous internet forum.
What I CAN do is assess what I choose to say and do. Do my words and deeds reflect the kind of person I am striving to become? Are my words and deeds helpful or hurtful to myself or others? Am I sticking my nose in other peoples business where it does not belong? Most importantly, am I focusing on the changes that need to occur in *me* and allowing others the freedom and responsibility to work on the changes they are trying to make?
FWIW..
DG
Grant me the serenity
to accept the people I cannot change,
the courage to change the one I can,
and the wisdom to know it's me.
When drinking was my answer to everything, and even when I first sobered up, I liked to look at the problems in everyone else. I looked for the ways that OTHER people needed to change. I have since learned that applying the serenity prayer in my life - both the original and this version - helps me to focus on what I CAN change - me.
I cannot control what other people do. I can't control how people drive on the common roadways, I can't control what my husband says and does, and I can't control what people post on an anonymous internet forum.
What I CAN do is assess what I choose to say and do. Do my words and deeds reflect the kind of person I am striving to become? Are my words and deeds helpful or hurtful to myself or others? Am I sticking my nose in other peoples business where it does not belong? Most importantly, am I focusing on the changes that need to occur in *me* and allowing others the freedom and responsibility to work on the changes they are trying to make?
FWIW..
DG
Keeping it simple. Keeping it real.
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