The material presented
here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method
to exchange
information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal
level.
It is easier to act yourself into a new way of thinking than it is to think yourself into a new way of acting
I heard this quote today and really appreciated it.
Sometimes, when faced with the enormity of alcoholism, I found it helpful to "act as if". Act as if I trusted God, act as if I'll be okay, act as if other people's opinions of me didn't matter, act as if I could grasp my powerlessness.
The more I acted, the more my thinking caught up with me and I started to shift to believing and behaving as though it were true.
Sometimes my head needs to be coerced in other creative ways instead of relying on logic alone and telling myself "I SHOULD..."
Love this topic and it's used quite often on the AA side yet I hear it on the Al-Anon side too. When I first arrived at recovery, others suggested just a couple things to keep it simple and keep me focused. Those were: Go to Meetings, Pray in the Morning asking for God's will and Pray at Night thanking God for the day...
None of these 3 appealed to me with the state of mind I was in. Yet, I sat in that meeting and saw others who had genuine peace of mind and real joy, and wanted what they had, so I tried/practiced it. I am not now nor will ever be perfect at it, but I took the action as suggested in the beginning and it's much more natural today for all 3, enjoyable and truly the best part of my days.
The same goes with getting a sponsor, working the steps, etc. I resisted almost everything suggested to me, simply because I had faulty thinking and was 'stuck in a rut of bad/unhealthy habits'. For whatever reason, perhaps because I saw success in others who were working recovery, the more I practiced what was suggested, the easier it became and my mind/thinking followed.
I read many self-help type books before recovery, all of which had suggestions on how to change an attitude, a habit, etc. I couldn't make things 'stick' and I believe (for me) it's because I needed the fellowship and a sponsor to hold me accountable. For me, it's about action, action, action vs. thinking, thinking, thinking for real change/growth to happen.
Great topic - grateful to be part of the MIP family, one day at a time!
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Practice the PAUSE...Pause before judging. Pause before assuming. Pause before accusing. Pause whenever you are about to react harshly and you will avoid doing and saying things you will later regret. ~~~~ Lori Deschene
This was and still is an important practice in my recovery. I questioned everything I heard when I first got here being from a foreign land with foreign thinking and understanding. It took me a long time to get what was going on and what was being said and meant and learning how to act out the ESH, the "do it" part helped me a lot. I did it and came to understand it. Thanks to the fellowship....((((hugs))))
