How Acceptance Can Lead To Positive Change

Did you know that acceptance can lead to positive change?

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.

Regardless of whether we’ve been in a recovery program or not, most people have heard the Serenity Prayer. Most of us would say it sounds nice. Most of us would resonate with the idea of having the courage to change what we can.

And most of us would scoff at the idea of accepting the things we cannot change; especially if they are things that we don’t want for ourselves or the people we love.

However, I’d like to challenge you to look at acceptance in a different way.

I’d like to suggest that acceptance of the things you cannot change gives you the clarity you need to create the very changes you crave.

Acceptance is often the catalyst that empowers you to become the person you long to be or create the life you long to have.

# 1: Acceptance encourages you to start where you are.

Acceptance in one of those ideas that makes most people think about settling, giving up or saying everything that is wrong is ok. That’s not been my experience.

Acceptance just means that you acknowledge the truth about yourself and your life “as it is”, for right now. Once you do that, you can decide what you want to change and pray for the guidance and direction you need to make it happen. It’s the beginning of healing, growth, newness, empowerment and receiving all that God wants to offer you.

Here are some questions to get you started thinking about Acceptance in your own life.

What is true for you and your life today?

What would it look like to accept what is?

What reality do you resist?

Remember, sometimes acceptance can be as simple as leaving for work on time because it really does take 30 minutes to get there instead of 10! When you accept that reality, then you get to decide if you want the commute to be stressful or not.

# 2: Acceptance empowers you to get clear on what is really in your control.

I’ve found that acceptance is empowering once you discern between what you can and cannot change in your life. Once you sort that out, you get to choose your next move and which direction to go.

Here are 5 steps that I use to help me gain clarity on how to improve my life.

Write down the top 5 things that you want to be different in your life.

Go to a quiet place and read each thing aloud. Ask yourself, “Can I realistically change this right now?” Listen to your spirit and write Yes or No next to each one.

Gather your “No’s” together and ask God to handle them and give you the faith to let them go. You can write them in a journal, put them in a God box or burn them.  Do something symbolic that represents letting them go. They are now no longer yours to focus on. Every time you want to take them back, and you will, remind yourself that God’s got them now.

Take your “Yes’s” and pick the most important one to start. Ask God for the next right step towards making that change and do it today. Write an intention, affirmation or message related to the change and keep where you can access it to keep you focused in the right direction.

Write a gratitude thanking God for helping you in this process. “Thank you, God, for handling “blank” in my life and the peace and freedom I gain from knowing you’re in control. I’m so grateful that I can now move forward with “blank” and be victorious in that area of my life”

# 3: Acceptance challenges you to step out in faith and take imperfect action.

Acceptance requires you to have faith in something other than yourself; which is sometimes easier said than done.

Let’s talk about the list of things of things you decided to accept because you couldn’t change them now. That was the list of things that were beyond your control: the things you let go of and gave to God to handle.

How’s that working for you? Have you tried to take them back just to make sure you couldn’t really change them? Do you trust God with those things and the outcome related to them?

Practicing faith in terms of acceptance means that you must continuously remind yourself that God has a plan and that not everything is yours to fix, improve or change in life.

Using a God box or jar like I mentioned above is a great way to symbolically and visually let go of what is not yours to change or control.

Create your jar or box and title it “Let Go & Let God.”

Write the things in your life that you can’t change on pieces of paper and throw them in the jar. It could be prayers, worries, desires, fears etc. Every time a new idea comes up, put it on a piece of paper and throw it in the jar.

# 4: Acceptance encourages you to see things differently.

Sometimes acceptance gives us the gift of seeing things differently.

I’ve had my share of wrestling matches with God this past year about my health. There were some heavy-duty roadblocks thrown in my path that were painful, out of my control, scary and very serious.

They triggered all kinds of reactions: none of which were acceptance. In fact, I spent the first three months of the year trying to push ahead with my life/business plan as if my health issues didn’t exist. You can imagine how well that worked out.

Finally, as a last resort, I asked God for direction. I’m sure He was thinking, “It’s about time!” I was immediately given an answer that I needed to stop resisting the truth and accept my present health and life situation.

As soon as I did that, I felt revived, free and empowered. The struggling stopped and I was given the insight and direction to create a revised business and life plan that was more aligned with my truest desires and calling.

The answers were right in front of me. I just couldn’t access them because I was living in denial of what was. It always amazes me how a new perspective can have such power in our lives.

# 5: Acceptance reminds you to celebrate what is good.

Why do we sometimes have a hard time accepting what we like in our lives?

So much of our attention goes towards what we don’t like and what we want to change. Think about how different your life would be if you shifted your energy away from changing the things you don’t like and put it towards celebrating the positive changes you do make.

Part of acceptance for me is celebrating what I like about myself and my life. Honoring the positive and good things that I want to keep.

Here are some of the things about myself and my life that I’m happy to accept as Me.

I accept that I’m creative and a designer of all things. I love to create.

I accept that God talks to me all the time and it always amazes me.

I accept that I’m great at making my family, friends and clients feel valued, worthy, accepted, and special.

I accept that doing things afraid makes me feel great.

I accept that I’m very obsessed with my dog, Hudson, and how cute he is.

Now it’s your turn. What do you accept about yourself that makes you feel good and happy?

Yes: Acceptance can lead to positive change if we are open to seeing things differently.

When we accept and embrace the truth of who we are and our current life circumstances, it becomes a starting point for healing, growth and transformation in our lives.

Once our minds become clear, we can receive the wisdom, answers and guidance we need to create the changes we crave.

Remember, if we don’t know or accept the “truth” about lives today; we will not be able to effectively create the life, we want tomorrow.

Acceptance is a journey that always leads to a better place.

YOUR TURN……….

If you’re feeling up to it, I’d love to hear from YOU.

What are some of the thing you have to accept because you cannot change them? Are you ready to let go and focus on the things you can change?

Please share your experiences in the comments below.

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Remember, you were made to thrive,

Eleni

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