Serenity is life’s supreme accomplishment.
Not because it means the storms stop coming—but because it means we learn how to find peace and joy despite them.

James Allen described serenity as the “supreme accomplishment” in his timeless essay As a Man Thinketh. He teaches that we shape our lives through our thoughts—that joy and bliss are the results of thinking lawfully, while misery comes from thinking unlawfully.

In other words, true prosperity is not built on competition or brute ambition. It comes from right thinking.

Let’s break that down.

The Law of Polarity tells us that in every adversity, there is a seed of equal or greater benefit. By law, good exists within every circumstance. This means that misery and joy aren’t determined by what happens to us—they’re determined by how we think about what happens.

And we see this everywhere:
There are rich people who are miserable.
There are poor people who are full of joy.
And vice versa.

“Unfortunate” people can still be joyful—simply because the law guarantees that potential. It’s always there.

(That said, clinical depression or mental illness can make it feel impossible to access that seed of good. If you’re in that space, please pause and take care of yourself. [Watch this.])

Finding Joy

Some of the deepest joy we ever feel comes from growth—from becoming all that we’re meant to become. Growth feels good. It’s what makes us alive.

If money is the barrier to that kind of growth, then prosperity principles can help us fix it.
If relationships are holding us back, we can use the principles to build better ones.
Even physical, mental, or spiritual health can shift with these principles.

But how?

It begins with recognizing that our thoughts are the one area where we have ultimate control. And since every part of our life is affected by our thinking, it’s no surprise that:

We cannot respond to setbacks with grace
unless we first think graceful thoughts.
We can’t turn a bad situation around
unless we first believe it can be turned.

Success starts in the mind.
(And so does failure.)

That’s why the most valuable skill we’ll ever develop is mastery over our thoughts.

Not mastery over circumstances—self-mastery.

When we stop waiting for things to change and instead find a way to make peace with where we are now, The Law of Cause and Effect kicks in, and our world begins to respond in kind. Life softens. Doors open.

But That’s a Scary Step

Making peace with disaster feels risky. Coming to terms with ruin feels like surrender. We’re afraid that if we stop resisting, it means we’ve given up.

But it’s just not true.

The truth is this:
Your thoughts determine what happens next.
So if you think that making peace equals failure, you’ll resist it.
And that resistance keeps you stuck.

But what if I told you the opposite?

What if happiness, progress, and even success are just waiting on the other side of your surrender—on the other side of you making peace with the mess you’re in?

What if the need for change is what’s keeping it from happening?

So Let’s Go There

What if nothing ever changed?
Really think about that.
What if life stays exactly the same from here on out?

Would you grieve? Be angry? Sit in frustration?

Yes—and that’s okay. That’s normal.
But then what?

Eventually, you'd change. You’re built to adapt.
It’s a natural process. We grieve, and if we allow ourselves to move through the cycle, we eventually reach acceptance.

The stages of grief:

• shock or disbelief

• denial

• bargaining

• guilt

• anger

• depression

• acceptance/hope

And that’s when the world begins to shift.

Once we’ve made peace with the now, Nature notices. And because of Cause and Effect, our circumstances start to reflect that inner calm.

Peace in the Storm

Serenity isn’t about being storm-free. It’s about being calm in the storm. And when we truly get there—when serenity is genuine—then it actually doesn’t matter whether we gain more success.

Because we’ve already found what we were chasing all along:
Happiness.

And isn’t that why we were chasing success in the first place?

In Conclusion

Challenges will continue. That’s life. And that’s good. Without them, we don’t gain strength, experience, or wisdom. Adversity is a blessing. When we stop resenting it and start embracing it, peace and prosperity follow.

It reminds me of the story of the two farmers:

One farmer always complained. He thought everything was bad.
God thought, “You think it’s bad now? I’ll show you what bad really is.”
And things got worse.

The other farmer gave thanks—even for his hardships.
“Thank you for the challenge,” he prayed. “It helps me grow.”
And God thought, “You think it’s good now? I’ll show you what good really is.”
And things only got better.

So just remember:

"The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom." —James Allen

For more on this topic, visit How to Surrender (and why you'd want to).

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