When I was a child, I always was holding on to hope that my brother would change but he never did. I found myself in a cycle of always getting hurt by him due to his inability to show me love. When I became an adult, I still held on to that hope that he would come to his senses and act differently towards me. Well, I would continue to be disappointed. It finally occurred to me that I was causing myself so much unneeded hurt and stress based upon a situation I cannot control. I could either hold on to false hope that he would change, or I could simply just accept him. I decided that I no longer wanted to struggle, so I accepted that the situation between us would never change.

Now that I was in acceptance of our situation, I had a choice to make on where he would fit into my life. Well, if you read Boxed In, you know how that turned out. Coming into acceptance gave me a sense of peace. I felt freedom from this toxic situation that did not serve me in a positive way. I also gained a significant amount of self-respect. Because of that, it made room in my life to welcome people, places, and things that would be good for my soul. Today my life is more balanced without my brother in it.

Acceptance is the key to any of your problems today. It is not limited to just family. It can be used in almost any circumstance, including relationships, friends, and work. If you desire someone or something to be that which it isn’t, then you seek to control the situation. Control, in most cases, is just an illusion. You can only control your attitude and change yourself. You must come into acceptance of “what is” and decide how to move forward from there.

I understand that it can be scary to possibly make a big change in your life once you have come into acceptance of a situation. You can either find yourself spinning your wheels being stuck in a pattern where there is no change, or you can find the courage to make a big change. Usually, the payoff of making that big change is well worth it. Like me, you can find inner peace and self-respect. So, stop fighting a losing battle, come into acceptance of a situation, and make necessary changes for yourself. Life is too short to waste anymore of your valuable time.