Do you ever feel overwhelmed and don't know how to achieve a sense of peace among the chaos??

The Need for Acceptance. Often we feel incredibly stressed in our profession. Our senior partner may be very difficult to work with, not listening to us, barking orders, and not understanding the breadth of our obligations. Our clients may ignore us, calling us incessantly, not heeding our advice, and voicing their frustrations to us. Time pressures can become overwhelming, so much to do, always more piling up, and not enough time. At times we take that stress home with us. There may be problems at home, either financial, or with one of our children, or perhaps in our relationship.

It can all be so much. So much beyond our control. It seems that we are powerless and so little we can do about it. And that only increases our stress. How do we find serenity in the midst of all of this anxiety and pressure?

The Practice of Acceptance. One very helpful solution is to practice acceptance. By now, most of us have heard of the Serenity Prayer: 

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference."

This simple prayer holds the key to finding serenity in our daily life amidst all the storms that we face. There is so much in our life that we have so little power over. Yet, we resist each of those things. We battle with them. We try to swim against the powerful tide. That only increases our frustration and our stress.

The key word in that prayer is "accept." That one small word holds a tremendous power. It holds the key to serenity.

What do we do with the many circumstances and people in our life that we cannot change and cannot control? We can learn to accept each, completely, as being exactly what it is supposed to be, without judging. If we learn to accept the circumstances in our life, without fighting them, without getting mad about them, without trying to change them into something they are not, we free ourselves from so much stress. We release ourselves from our own negative reactions that we create. With all the many stresses we face in life, when we resist them, we generate our own emotional stress. We let that circumstance or that other person control our emotions and our happiness.

Instead of fighting those circumstances, and trying to change something we cannot, accept it as the reality you face. Do not judge it. Do not fight it. This does not mean accepting harmful behaviors from others, or being hopeless, but empowering yourself to let go of the anger and blame that you might feel. Instead of creating stress about the circumstances, simply say "it is what it is." And now what can I do about it? 

Acceptance is the answer to all our frustrations today. When we are stressed, it is because we find some person or situation unacceptable to us. When we stop living in the problem, and begin living in the solution, we free ourselves from the self-inflicted frustrations. We can become truly happy when we accept life completely on life's terms. We feel more serene when we focus on what needs to be changed in us and our attitudes, instead of what we want to change "out there."

When you are not living in acceptance, you allow yourself to be deeply troubled by some person or circumstance, which then takes away your serenity. Acceptance allows you to understand that you cannot change what you cannot change. You can accept how that makes you feel, and and even that you do not like it. But, ultimately you learn to accept that even though it gives you uncomfortable feelings, it still is what it is. 

Is this easy? Of course not. It takes practice. But, every time you find yourself being frustrated by some person or circumstance in your life, try to understand that you have no power to change that, but only have control over your response and attitudes towards it.

The Gifts of Acceptance. Acceptance allows you to find serenity in your life by creating calm and peacefulness and removing your emotional negative reaction to your immediate troubles. Accepting people and circumstances creates greater personal freedom and peace. Our happiness is no longer controlled by others. Acceptance releases our worry and anxiety. When we accept a challenging circumstance as being exactly as it is, we no longer have to fight it. Acceptance also frees us to make healthy choices and decisions that are best for us. When we practice acceptance, our focus changes from people and circumstances we cannot control to what we can change, ourselves. Most importantly, acceptance frees us from our unhealthy compulsion to control other people and circumstances. When we live in control, we are constantly frustrated because we simply have no power to change other people. We have the power to choose to accept, without judgment, and not control.

See, acceptance is a choice we can make. When we practice acceptance, we can truly transform our life and our attitudes. We free ourselves from unhealthy expectations of others. We will experience less stress and worry. We stop trying to control people in our lives. We will enjoy greater freedom, humility and hope. We will find that we have greater strength and courage to live our life the way we want to. Our life will now be opened to greater possibilities and visions for success.

Are you willing to start trying the practice of acceptance? Trust me, you will enjoy amazing benefits.

I am now serving others by coaching them in a how to live life with a greater sense of personal freedom. If you would like to set up a complementary discovery call with me, I would be honored to chat with you. You can schedule a time here: https://calendly.com/garymiles-successcoach/one-one-discovery-call