Courage to Change

The Serenity Prayer asks for 'courage to change the things I can,' but for a long time, that just frustrated me. What I desperately wanted to change was never within my control: the alcoholic’s drinking, past hurts, other people’s choices. My own responses and attitudes felt like minor adjustments, too insignificant to truly matter in the face of such overwhelming difficulties.

Al-Anon, however, gave me a new lens. The courage isn't just in making the change itself, but in the subsequent act of completely letting go of what happens next. I can shift my reaction to the chaos, but I can't dictate if that change will make anyone else sober up. I can articulate a boundary, but I can't force another person to respect it. My program can transform me, yet it won’t guarantee that my recovery will inspire those around me as I hope.

This is the deeper courage: acting from my own truth without clinging to a specific outcome. It’s setting a boundary because it’s necessary for my peace, not because I expect universal compliance. It’s working my recovery to heal myself, rather than as a strategic move to "fix" my relationships. This surrender – choosing what's right for me and then detaching from the return – has been the most challenging, yet ultimately the most liberating, part of my journey. I no longer need guarantees; I only need to act with integrity.

What do I need courage to change today? I can take that action—set that boundary, make that choice, change that behavior—and then practice letting go of the outcome. I don't need to control the results; I just need to do what's right for me.