Acting "As IF'..... a good recipe for Growth....
Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds.
--George Eliot
Who are we, really? It seems like we are one person on the inside, and yet we often act like someone else. Can a good person do bad things? Can a bad person do good things? It's pretty confusing, isn't it?
Our recovery program teaches us that we can change who we are by changing the things we do. We can become the kind of person we want to be by acting as if we are already that person. For example, if we want to be sober, we can act as if we are a sober person; that is, don't drink, and don't hang out in places where people go to drink. If we want to be a caring person, we can do caring actions for others.
We are the person we feel like on the inside. We are also the person we act like on the outside. In recovery, we change how we think, feel, and act. We practice making changes in each of these areas, and every time we do well in one area, we help in the others too.
Prayer for the Day
Higher Power, help me become the person I want to be by changing how I act, how I feel, and how I think. I am sick and tired of acting, feeling, and thinking like an addict.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
Monty
The world is out of control. I
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Monty
don't blame god one bit, its the individual people.
The world today is a very different place from the world we grew up in, guys. Your remarks are absolutely correct.
***-UMING often backfires....
To assume what other people are thinking or feeling without asking them is to invite misunderstanding. Just as disastrous is to assume other people know what we want or need without our telling them. Many potentially good friendships and marriages perish because of our false assumptions and our lack of honest communication.
Do we assume others can't live without us or wouldn't know what to think or feel unless we told them? Do we take for granted that "silence means assent"? Do we assume others don't have time for us, or don't care about us, if they don't call or go out of their way to talk to us? Do we think others can read our minds without our ever opening our mouths?
Since we can only assume the same limited or distorted thoughts of others that we have of ourselves, we each need to take the initiative to ask probing questions and give honest responses in our relationships.
TODAY I will not make the mistake of projecting my feelings onto others. I will initiate honest and open communication.
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This is good advice.
If we want rewarding relationships with other people we need to work at them. Try not to assume things in the dynamics, that might not be true. We should try to give friends the benefit of the doubt, unless it's proven otherwise.
Honest communication is a challenge at times, but it's the best road to further growth and development.