God, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference.

Things are always changing. You can view this in a positive or a negative way, but you are the one in control of how you accept the change. We thought this week’s blog post would be about acceptance and what you can control. We are navigating these tricky waters with our readers and thought we would share with you our experiences so far. Let us show you how we are learning to accept our ever-changing world.

What can you control?

I have learned growing up that you are unable to control what happens, but you can control how you react to the situation. I have applied that to daily life since. You do not like a haircut you received? Tell yourself that your hair grows. You do not like a meal at a restaurant? Don’t go back or have the same meal. If only situations were as easy as not liking a haircut or a meal at a restaurant.

We now have situations that can leave us feeling uncomfortable if we do not agree with how others think. We should all keep in mind other perspectives of what is going on and try to see it from their point of view. We are all different and to remember that helps us control the reaction. Just remember, none of us are experts on the situation no matter how much news you watch.

Who you are around matters

If you feel as though you are around someone who is a glass half empty type of person, you may want to step away from them for the time being. We need positivity in our lives, and if they are unable to contribute, then you may need to let them go for now. You cannot control how they feel, but you can control how you feel when they are not around. Explain to them that you want to feel happier during this difficult time, and if they do not see the positivity in the situation, then you need to step away from the friendship. Hopefully they will understand and find the glass half full.

Know your trigger words

For me it’s “maybe”, “could”, or “possibly”. When I hear those words on the news the first thing that pops into my mind is, “you don’t know”. What I do instead is turn off the news when they discuss topics I am not comfortable with. Instead, I watch light-hearted news (thank you, NJ News 12 and MLB!) and watch stories on topics like the longevity of Wild West City or about the Field of Dreams baseball game in Iowa. Stories like this put a smile on my face and help you know that there are positive reports that we can all agree on.

We hope this blog helps you and is able to allow you to see things more clearly. Know that you cannot control what happens, but you can control how you react. Think about your inner circle – who brings you down verses who lifts you up? And most of all, know your trigger words (or situations), and just surround yourself with positivity. We will be surrounding ourselves with positive words of affirmation and glass half full kind of people. We hope you do as well!