“God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, Courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.”
~Serenity Prayer
How do you stop worry and increase your personal power at the same time?
You do it, like the classic prayer above says, by you on what you can change instead of what you can’t, and be aware enough to keep directing your focus in a useful way.
What You Can Do
Is within your area of control. This includes people and events you can directly or indirectly influence; you can get yourself to start running, convince someone to donate money to charity, and start a company.
What You Can’t Do
Includes people and things you can’t directly or indirectly influence; you can’t repair the depleted ozone, you can’t arrest all the terrorists in the world, you can’t even stop new techno music from being made (urgh)!
What You Care About
Includes both the area of things you have control over and those you don’t.
Productivity, growth and positivity are created when you focus on those concerns you have control over and feel the joy of accomplishment when you work on them.
Worry, stress and negativity come when you focus instead on those concerns you don’t have control over and fuss and learn how to be helpless when there’s nothing you can do.
What Can You Do Right Now?
We tend to let ourselves get overwhelmed sometimes, but the truth is that while we might overestimate what we can do in the short term, we tend to underestimate what we can do in the long.
You might not be able to achieve your deepest dreams overnight, but what can you do right now?
A Surefire Way To Multiply Your Personal Power
So you’re not satisfied with plodding along at a mediocre pace, and want a surefire way to explode your personal growth?
All you need to do is remember this maxim:
If something scares you but is good for you; and especially if you feel you can’t do it, then you must.
In other words, stretch. The more you stretch the boundaries of your area of control by stretching them, the bigger your area of influence will stretch over your area of concern.
It won’t be easy, and you might make a few mistakes, but therein lies the serenity to accept things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be, and the power to transform one into the other.
October 11th, 2006 at 10:48 pm
Your statement “. . . while we might overestimate what we can do in the short term, we tend to underestimate what we can do in the long” is one to remember when perspective gets out of whack.
October 14th, 2006 at 1:43 am
Hi Carolyn!
Thanks! I was inspired by something I heard Tony Robbins say on one of his tapes; to the effect of ‘we often overestimate what we can achieve in a year, but underestimate what we can achieve in a decade.’
Since I’m still living out my third decade, I can kinda attest to the truth of that
October 15th, 2006 at 10:37 pm
Excellent post, Alvin. It helps to hear others struggle with fear as we get out of our comfort zones. Sometimes I wonder whether it’s worth it, but your article reaffirms this. Cheers!
October 16th, 2006 at 12:17 pm
Thanks Matt! I remember hearing Tony Robbins himself admit that he still has fears and doubts like the rest of us; if someone as successful as him does it’s reassuring that the rest of us do too.
I’m very happy to hear from your blog that your coaching efforts are getting off the ground Matt, all the best!