WARS

If You Took a Weekend Getaway and Did Not Have Your Phone... I find myself feeling guilty when I pass a week or two and not post to the page. Why? No one reads this, yet I still think I'm compelled to post...something. I gain nothing from posting. I lose nothing if I don't post. This is my only use of social media; doing so reluctantly. However, I wonder since I experience this compulsion with such a low leverage connection, how much more compelled are you all to continue po...sting on personal accounts? Or play that mobile game? Or lay one last bet? Indeed your audience is far more intimate than what this page manages. You have family, friends, co-workers and others scattered across the land to keep informed and with whom to interact. Has the use of social media become your new addiction? The active addiction mind is an active addiction mind; regardless of chemical or process it pursues. Consider the following: Are in-person opportunities being wasted so your phone can get the attention? Is it difficult to put the game/social media/gambling site aside when you want to? Are you experiencing work, relationship or (heaven forbid) legal issues due to your screen use? Are you devoting significant time to social media/phone use? (are you getting paid for all that time?) Do you find yourself fiending for your next social media/phone/screen hit when you're not using it? The endgame is not different from a chemical pursuit. It will consume and undo you if you give it the power to do so. Spiritually consider how much power you've given to both your phone and social media use .

Coooooookie. Num, num, num, num... One of the great things of raising a four year-old boy is reliving some of the classic programming from my childhood. Once in a while we'll stumble across some old Sesame Street skits; Doing the pigeon, I don't want to live on the moon, Count von Count and of course Cookie Monster. Since my brain has forever been skewed to becoming Recovery Maniac Fan #1, I started viewing Cookie Monster, with his insatiable appetite, as physical repres...entation of addiction...and we're the cookies. Cookie Monster is the terminator of confection delicacies. He is a savage eating machine; so is addiction. They will not quit. Do not forget what you're managing: A chronic relapsing condition that wants your soul. Upon reading that, I hope there's a part of you that wants to kick Cookie Monster in his toothless jaw. Today, take that same drive for survival to your own daily recovery. Is there a corner/closet of your life that Cookie Monster is waiting to pounce? You know he will once he gets the chance. You are irresistible to him as well.

On its face, this will sound contradictory to Step One from traditional 12-steps. That is not the intention. Indeed there are stimuli (drugs, porn, work, exercise, gaming, gambling, etc.) in which we are incapable of engaging in moderation. That indeed is powerless. The powerlessness referred to today relates to the control of perception. In his book The Obstacle is the Way, author Ryan Holiday highlights the unjust conviction of boxer Ruben Hurricane Carter. (This was also... adapted to a movie starring Denzel Washington, The Hurricane). Highlighted in the book was Mr. Carter's choice of mindset when he entered the prison to serve triple-life sentence. .. Looking the warden in the eye, Carter proceeded to inform him and the guards that was not giving up the last thing he can control; himself. In his remarkable declaration he told them, in so many words, 'I know you had nothing to do with the injustice that brought me to this jail. So I'm willing to stay here until I get out, but I will not, under any circumstances, be treated like a prisoner, because I am not, and never will be, powerless.' At no point did Ruben Carter sacrifice the one thing he always controlled: his perception and cognition. Hopefully you are never wrongfully imprisoned 19-years for a crime you did not commit. Nevertheless you possess the same strength Ruben Carter held. You are always in control of your perception. You are always in control of your logical/rational mind. You may not always have money, a house, relationship, frivolous objects; but you always have time and perception. Recovery demands we maximize the strength of these two assets. Sometimes in fellowship of community, sometimes solo. Here's to a day with helpful perceptions and good coffee. -MC

No one else is going to give this to us. It’s not their job. A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval. -Mark Twain In the course of our active addiction, we may have lost everything. The road to rebuilding those lost assets requires dedication to our principles (as mentioned yesterday). However, the first step in rebuilding a sustain recovery comes with our acceptance of ourselves. ... When I hit my rock bottom moment, I forfeited what I thought I was, and over time, rebuilt myself into who I really am. It was painful. However, as cliche as it may sound, my bad days now are better than my good days when I was living in self-deception. Like eating at a buffet, take what you want, leave what you don’t. Here are some things that helped me with that reinvention: I got help with my mental health. I got professional help and appropriate medication. I increased my physical exercise to 4-5 days a week. I re-explored my spirituality, increasing my meditation and prayer time. I got on an appropriate sleep schedule 10-6 each day. I joined my town council and became more involved in my community. I made my family the priority they should have been. These are shared as encouragements. These are all achievable and can be implemented today...or continued if already established. When you realize your self worth, you’ll stop giving people discounts. -Good coffee to everyone

"My disease used to make my choices. Now I do." Our disease had so much control over our lives, that it not only made us do things we did not want to do, but would not let us do things that we wanted to. -Pocket Sponsor Quote How do you defeat an enemy who tries to overcome you? You become principled.... Becoming principled, as Thomas Jefferson suggested, demands we remain a rock in the ever shifting currents of what is perceived to be acceptable. Do we have the principles (read strength) to remain grounded in our values when the world around us demands we change? This begins with our own individual daily recovery and expands to our social systems. Our principles drive the car. A relapse, or even a slip, typically begins with a failure to adhere to our principles. However, we need to know our principles before we can continue; before we can be recovered. Treatment at its core is directed to support our development of our principles. Below are some thinking points to help get started. This may be repeated information, but it’s worth repeating: My Quality World.docx (13.34 KB) Ray Dalio, a billionaire and philanthropist, who has focused on principles with a couple of produced works, eloquently sums up the values of principles for personal health: Principles are what allow you to live a life consistent with those values. Principles connect your values to your actions. -Good day. Good coffee. Good health to everyone.