Lately, I’ve been studying Buddhism and Stoicism.
The essence of Buddhism is acceptance, and the essence of Stoicism is leaning into what is and being your best self regardless of circumstance.
I’ve found the intersection very useful in building up my acceptance ‘muscle.’
The key is to start small.
At Christmas, I heard a lot of people wishing for good weather.
Wishing for good weather does nothing to affect it. It will be what it is.
Practicing what I’ve been studying, instead I got myself to wish for the character to have an enjoyable time regardless of the weather.
This demonstrates two parts to training acceptance…
Start small with easy things.
Don’t wish for the external, which you can’t control; wish for the internal, which is completely under your control.