Acceptance is an ?.

Acceptance.One word and philosophy that I have learned to appreciate, though probably one of the hardest for me over the years. Can you relate?\xa0

There are many ways that acceptance has shown up in my life as a consistent lesson; one I have learned the hard way over and over again. From the day I got sober, and the serenity prayer was introduced to me, I was told to say it as many times as I felt necessary to get through some of the tougher days. I did, I do and plan on continuing. It goes like this:

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”\xa0

This prayer is the first thing I say every morning, and has been for the last nineteen plus years. However, I still battle with acceptance. Where I find it gets me the worst is being able to accept people for who they are. Not expect people to act, think, or conduct the way I think they should. This is where I have created way more discomfort and stress in my life than was necessary.

Another area in life where I’ve battled with acceptance is when I’m sick or injured. It may seem petty, but injury and illness really send me for a loop when I am thrust out of my routine. As a matter of fact, being sick this last week is what inspired me to write about this topic for today's entry. Here’s what happened... I started feeling sick on Thursday, just a bit, not enough to think it may be a bad one. Then while I was sleeping on Thursday night, I felt the tightness in my throat, that tickle. When I woke up, I was convinced it was allergies. Over the next few days, it got worse and worse, sinus earthquake. I had to make a decision. Do I train, or do I just relax and let my body heal. If you know me, you know how important training is for my mental health, but I also know that training when you're actually sick really digs a deeper hole. Long story short, I embraced acceptance over what I wanted. I haven't trained in a full seven days, nada. I honestly can’t remember going this long without training, but my body totally needed it to get through this virus. I am glad I accepted the fact that I was sick and that “NO MATTER WHAT,” I would be okay. I wouldn’t lose all my muscle and gain a bunch of fat, because if I’m being honest, that's where my head goes. Interestingly, I am leaner, my body feels really great, no back pain, and I am stoked I gave myself this time to heal the virus, but also my body and mind.

I hope this resonated with at least one of you… Acceptance is an unlock in so many ways, it's a lifelong thing, day by day, no graduating, just building more and more awareness around. A great read that dives deep into acceptance, and one of my favorite books of all time is\xa0The Four Agreements.\xa0

Until next week family,\xa0Peace
Chernow