#Positively Stressed - Week 28
If you’ve been following along in the #PositivelyStressed series, you already know we’re on a journey to flip the script on stress – to see it not just as something to endure, but as a potential source of growth and purpose.
For those who are new here, welcome! This series draws from personal experience, a little research, and a touch of humor to explore how stress – when reframed – can become a tool for living a more resilient life.
Today, we turn to one of the most enduring and widely quoted lines of wisdom in modern history that has provided meaning and comfort for countless individuals: the Serenity Prayer.
A Brief History
Though often associated with 12-step programs, the Serenity Prayer predates them. Written by Reinhold Niebuhr in the 1930’s, it first gained public traction during WWII, offering comfort to service members and civilians alike.
Over time, it’s appeal spread beyond church walls and recovery circles – because its message transcends religious boundaries. No matter your beliefs, the prayer’s core is universal.
Accept What You Cannot Change
In the #PositivelyStressed tradition, we often explore how stressors – like layoffs, medical diagnoses, or even traffic – are firmly outside our influence and control. Rather than resisting these stressors, acceptance allows us to conserve our time, effort, and energy.
Acceptance doesn’t mean resignation. It means choosing a more constructive, emotional investment which can lead to growth rather than further defeat.
Put differently, acceptance allows us to stop while we are behind and gives us time to re-evaluate what the next step should be instead of digging ourselves into a deeper hole.
Courage to Change What you Can
Previous posts in this series remind us that stressors – when approached with clarity and intention – can motivate and elevate us into action. Financial anxiety can be tamed with concrete steps; a strained friendship invites honest conversation; making lists forces focus.
That’s the “courage” piece of the prayer in action – and here, “courage” isn’t bravado. Being able to look at a situation and be our own better angels in that moment, against our own demons, that is courage enough.
But it usually doesn’t look like grandiose decisions – it’s through the small, intentional steps like setting a boundary or making the phone call which breaks down the overwhelming into manageable action thereby turning stress into meaningful momentum.
Wisdom to Know the Difference
And now comes the hardest part of the prayer in action: discernment. Throughout the series, we’ve discussed balancing competing priorities – between family, work, and the inevitable curveballs of daily life. Wisdom is knowing which stressors deserve your energy, and which need to be let go.
Wisdom grows when we pause and reflect – can I make real positive change within my means, or will I lose everything else in my life to make it happen? Is the challenge an opportunity or is the cross-current too strong? Is this a Sisyphean task? Answering these questions requires mindfulness and self-awareness – skills that improve with time and practice.
A Prayer in Motion
The Serenity Prayer – like most frameworks discussed in the series – is not a magical cure. But it does remind us:
- To accept that some things – like aging, economic shifts, and traffic – are beyond our control;
- To act where our influence matters – our habits, routines, and responses;
- To cultivate the wisdom needed with honesty and humility.
In doing so, we don’t just endure stress – we learn from it, harness it, and allow it to transform us. And in that way, we transform stress from an enemy into a teacher.
And that – is living #PositivelyStressed.
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