It May Not Be Yours to Carry

Written By Karen Meuwissen

There’s a simple prayer you’ve probably heard before:
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

It’s not just a nice quote for a coffee mug. It’s a lifeline—especially when stress is high and everything feels like it’s spinning out of control.

When we’re stressed, we often try to control everything. Even the stuff we have absolutely no business trying to manage. Basically, we take on unreasonable responsibility.

But here’s the truth: the only thing we can actually control is ourselves.

That’s it.

We can’t control our kids, our partner, our supervisor, the weather, the media, or the politicians (as much as we’d like to). But we can control how we respond to it with our choices, our reactions, and our energy.

When we let go of what’s not ours to carry—it’s freeing. It’s empowering. It’s peaceful. And peace feels a whole lot better than stress.

Letting Go of Unreasonable Responsibility (Even When It’s Hard)

This isn’t easy. Letting go of what isn’t ours takes practice. It starts with awareness. In other words, recognizing what’s out of your hands and choosing to focus on what is.

It’s not about giving up. It’s about shifting your energy to where it actually makes a difference.

Learning to separate what’s ours from what isn’t is a game-changer.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed today, try this:

  • Ask yourself: Is this my responsibility? Can I control it?

    • If the answer is no—let it go.

    • If the answer is yes—take action.

    • Either way, give yourself some grace. You’re doing the best you can.

An action you can take today

Make a list of your top 5 stressors.

  • Decide if they are truly your responsibility or if you are taking on unreasonable responsibility.

  • If it’s yours and you can control it, create a plan of action.

  • If it’s not, let it go—and spend your energy on what you can do.

 

P.S. Please know, you’ll let go of something… and then pick it back up again later. That’s normal. It’s human. When it happens, just remind yourself to “let it go” and try again. BTW - it might take a hundred times. 😊

Karen Meuwissen
Next