Serenity Prayer

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In my last therapy session we talked about some of the things in my life that I don't have control over. Things that I don't have control over tend to stress me out. My therapist showed me the Serenity Prayer, by Reinhold Neibuhr, which illustrates perfectly what I need to be focusing on in my life in order to let much of my stress go. 

As we were talking about the Serenity Prayer, my therapist suggested that I change the word "things" to "people", so that the poem would instead read, 

God, grant me the serenity to 

Accept the people I cannot change, 

Courage to change the people I can

Wisdom to know the difference. 

I think that this interpretation of the Serenity Prayer is even more applicable to my needs in some ways. Oftentimes I will own other people's problems as my own, which isn't exactly a healthy practice. I don't need to take the blame when someone else is having issues. 

This knowledge has been very liberating for me. I simply feel freer, and my stress level has already gone down. I am recognizing that other people have problems and I can let those problems go instead of focusing on how I can fix them. It sounds a bit pessimistic that I'm noticing other people's shortcomings, but this isn't my intention at all. My intention is to recognize their issues and let them go before I begin to wonder what I need to do to change myself. And, as I see issues in others, I can better see them in myself and do something about it. 

What do you do in your own life to encourage serenity? Do you have a personal mantra that keeps you from stressing out too much?