(Adapted for personal use from Courage to Change in Alanon.)
When I am troubled by another person’s behavior, a complicated situation or a disappointing turn of events, our program reminds me I don’t have to take it personally. I’m not a victim of everything that happens unless I choose to see it that way. Though things don’t always go my way, I can accept what I cannot change, and change what I can.
Perhaps I can take a different view of my problems. If I accept them at face value, without taking them personally, I find hat they are not problems at all, only things that have not gone as I would have liked. This change of attitude can help free me to evaluate the situation realistically and move forward constructively.
Today’ Reminder
Blaming my discomfort on outside events can be a way to avoid facing the real cause—my own attitude. I can see myself as a victim, or I can accept what is happening in my life and take responsibility for my response. I may be guided to take action or to sit still, but when I listen to the guidance of my Higher Power I will no longer be the victim of my circumstances.
