I wasn’t sure I wanted to ACCEPT my One Word for 2018,
I’ve never needed to be in recovery, but the Serenity Prayer has always resonated with me:
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference
I’ve always felt like the key here is the third line, but in pondering my One Word I was drawn to the first.
How is “accept” compatible with #Resist? So much of what’s happening around us today is unacceptable.
I think it’s about discerning what is appropriate to accept. It’s thoughtfully recognizing what can’t be changed–like it or not–and what needs to change.
I’m working on what I’d call “active acceptance.” For me, that means taking things as they come, but not passively. Most of what I can change is in how I respond to what I accept. I’m trying to figure out how that looks, but here’s what I think it includes:
- Saying “yes” to opportunity
- Changing “yes” to “no” when I realize it may not have been the right answer after all
- Choosing my battles (and when it’s right not to have them)
- Being OK with being myself and with others being who they are
