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. One significant thing you can change is yourself. The magic word in this sentence is ‘can’. This sentence challenges you to examine the things in life that you can change. It’s interesting to note that this part of the serenity prayer supports Step 1 of the 12 Steps where it says “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable.” 3. In truth, it is all but impossible to compel a person to change his or her ways, no matter how hard you try. The sadness is that many of these people are not aware that they are attempting to change something that simply cannot be changed.Ī classic example of this sort of maladaptive behaviour is the wish to change the behaviour of another person. This state of being is undoubtedly tantamount to madness. Some of us are entirely consumed in attempting to alter things outside our control. As much as we would like to see a tropical climate in London in January, this will simply never occur. To do so is an unprofitable use of your time and energy. It’s worth mentioning that your ability to accept hardship is aided by practising mindfulness meditation because both support the goal of overcoming negativity and experiencing the present moment as a neutral observer.Īttempting to control the uncontrollable is utter madness and will, significantly, always result in either absolute failure or results that are far from ideal. The word ‘accept’ hints at your emotional ability to bear and even accept hardship that’s not immediately within your power to change. The word ‘accept’ is also significant because to accept means you are accepting the present moment without any resistance of any kind. To accept the things I cannot changeĪlthough accepting the things you cannot change is makes utter logical sense, each one of us is guilty of chastising ourselves or obsessing over matters that we are not in any way capable or likely to influence. This backdrop means the Serenity Prayer could never be more relevant to the lives of those experiencing addiction. Stress is very much a modern disease that’s linked to a whole range of ailments such as cancer, heart disease, obesity and premature death. 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. When we are stressed, we are likely to act impulsively and on our emotions.ĭoing so can have far-reaching negative consequences. It’s difficult to make sensible decisions when in this negative state of mind. When we lack serenity, we tend to feel stressful and agitated. God, grant me the serenity…Īs discussed above, serenity is akin to calmness. We shall now examine each part of the prayer below: 1. The courage to change the things I can,.The exact wording of the serenity prayer is as follows: Thus, serenity is, emotionally speaking, the polar opposite of the emotional state experienced by those who are addicted to substances or certain behaviours. It’s interesting to note that those trapped in the circle of drug and alcohol addiction often feel agitated, anxious and uneasy. The antonym (opposite) of serenity is defined as ‘agitation, alarm, anguish, anxiety, anxiousness, apprehension, apprehensiveness, uneasiness, vexation and worry.’ Thus, we feel it is fair to say that serenity is a calm state-of-mind. The online dictionary, ‘Merriam Webster’, defines the serenity as ‘calm, calmness, peace, peacefulness, placidity and tranquillity’. The very word ‘serenity’ is unarguably archaic, so let’s begin by defining this term. We shall examine each part of this short prayer below. The popularity of this simple prayer is owed to the deep spiritual meaning contained in its words. Today, the Prayer has been adopted by many other 12-step organisations such as Gamblers Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. The Prayer was later adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous in 1941. The Serenity Prayer was written back in 1932 by an American Theologian called Reinhold Niebuhr. If you are not recovering from an addiction yourself, you may wonder what the fuss is all about. However, awareness of the Serenity Prayer is undoubtedly growing because it has been mentioned in many TV programmes, documentaries and films. These treatments are available at residential or outpatient rehab clinics across the UK and abroad.Īlthough the Serenity Prayer is well known in recovery circles across the globe, it is still somewhat unknown to most. In this section, we outline a range of evidence-based addiction treatments.
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