The Serenity Prayer is a well known spiritual tool used in 12 Step recovery whose origins are unclear. Most attribute the prayer to the Christian (Protestant) theologian, Rheinhold Niebuhr (Karl Paul Rheinhold Niebuhr, 1892-1971). Here is a long version of Niebuhr's prayer, with some Christian context:

"God, give us grace to accept withserenity the things that cannot be changed,
courage to change the things which should be changed,
and thewisdom to distinguish the one from the other.
Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
Thissinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonablyhappy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.
Amen."

In any event, I heard an interpretation of the Serenity Prayer, I think from a Father Martin film (remember those things on reels?), that I have used for over 36 years as a tool for managing almost all life's realities. Here it is:

God (or other source of spiritual strength),
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change–Other people and many events;

Grant me the courage to change the things I can–Me, and how I react to other people and many events in my life.

In my experience, an individual always has the power to be in charge of how he/she reacts to life's problems. So, the goal is to seek the strength from God, a Higher Power, or other source of spiritual strength, to monitor one's emotional reactions and adopt a positive response., such as turning the problem over (Step 3 of the 12 Steps), sharing the problem with a trustworthy friend (perhaps a sponsor or other recovering person), or simply recognizing the problem or issue as one that needs to be accepted or put aside.

As always, comments are invited. Jan Edward Williams, www.alcoholdrugsos.com, 04/12/2014.