Agency

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

The future belongs to those who have the courage to create it.

In the serenity prayer, as well as in the statement above - there is a conscious recognition that making changes that lead to better futures, takes courage.

Courage (i.e. the ability to do something that scares you) is needed to break away from old, entrenched habits that no longer serve us. It takes courage try something new, to explore an uncharted route.

It's easier to sit back and do the same thing you always have or do nothing; blame others, or resign ourselves to being victims of circumstance or forces of change that are outside of our control.

For many who lack belief in their own agency to affect change, that's the default response to perceived danger or radical change in human nature.

But recognising your own fear, going against your deep inclination to hide away from it and having faith in your agency to choose and action an alternative approach, which will potentially benefit you in the future,  is a skill that takes awareness and dedicated practice to master.

We all have the agency to affect the future, it takes courage to take on the personal responsibility to wield that agency by taking action.

The serenity prayer is a powerful reminder for all of us who are accepting of the task to build a better future that the road towards these futures is not without internal challenge, but that this internal challenge is not all that there is.