Acceptance: learning to deal with the world as it is.

There is one piece of wisdom I have struggled with more than any other – embracing the concept of acceptance.

And yet, the people who have consistently offered me wisdom that works believe it is the key to living a balanced and fulfilled life. Despite that, on hearing it many – including me at first – push back, interpreting it as meaning we should take any amount of crap and not try to do anything about it. “Acceptance” can sound like a code word for giving up - prompting the question: What if Gandhi, Martin Luther-King and Nelson Mandela had just accepted their lot?

This misses the point of what is meant by acceptance – and the Serenity Prayer prayer is good start at understanding why: