The Serenity Prayer is the common name for a prayer written by the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr in the early 1930’s. It was later adopted and popularized by Alcoholics Anonymous.
Because this prayer promotes acceptance of “what is” as the best tonic for human beings, it has also become well-known as a simple doctrine for living a happy and stress-free existence.
I often discuss the Serenity Prayer with my clients in our first session, because I have found that a majority of upset in life comes from wanting things to be different from how they are.
“I just want my mom to tell me she loves me.”
“I want to have had a normal childhood and now I feel cheated!”
The list of how people wished their life could have been is endless. But, we all know that “would have, could have and should haves” do us no good at all. Wishing and hoping changes nothing in the past.
In fact, we don’t need the past to change at all. ALL WE NEED IS FOR OUR PRESENT STATE OF MIND TO CHANGE!
What DOES change our present state of mind is shifting our belief system. The Serenity Prayer can help all of us to get there. In fact, I remind myself daily to accept things as they are or live with an upset. I choose to accept. It is a conscious choice.
Although there are various versions of the prayer, the best-known form is only the following 3 lines:
God, 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 often refer to the simple elegance of the Serenity Prayer as a tool for my clients AND the concept is exactly the same in the NLP Coaching world!:
Why swim upstream? Accept your mom, dad, sister, brother, husband, wife, etc… for who they are. You can’t change them… they have to change themselves. You are not responsible for their happiness and they are not responsible for yours.
The things I can change? Me. Be empowered and stress-free… swim with the current. Affect change where you can.
If you want something you don’t have, ask that person you see in the mirror to help you!
My Hypnotherapy and NLP Coaching sessions are about empowerment training. My goal is not for you to come to see me once a week for the next 15 years… I am NOT a talk therapist.
I am an “action and results-oriented” Hypnotherapist and Master NLP Coach who will teach you the tools so you can always help yourself. If you want a little taste of advanced techniques that I employ, just reach out to me via phone, email or my website for a complimentary 30-minute phone consultation.
Jayne Goldman, MBA, C.Ht., Founder and Principal of Best Life Hypnotherapy in Los Angeles, is a Certified Hypnotherapist and NLP Master NLP Practitioner and Coach.
