If I’m being honest, I have been guilty of trying to control others who I’m close to under the guise of being “helpful.” This was unconscious until I became aware of it. 

Don’t get me wrong, I do love to help people, and in these instances there was certainly a component of me wanting to help. However, as I have peeled back the layers of intent over the years of my recovery journey, sure enough I discovered that my motive to “help” was often rooted in me not liking the discomfort I felt when YOU weren’t doing something I thought you should be doing.

It’s natural for us to seek solutions to our discomfort, but these defenses we develop often aren’t helpful for anyone.

So ask yourself, do you offer to “help” others more than once?

If your answer is yes, ask yourself this: what if you stopped?

That may seem too absurd to even fathom, but families with a loved one struggling with addiction who choose to reflect on this and change their behavior as a result often experience far greater personal happiness!

The other benefit is they ripple recovery to those around them while creating these small changes. 

Recovery is contagious. And even the smallest changes make a difference.

This is a good one to get started with. All you have to do is watch yourself . . . are you offering more than once?  

Try taking a step back to see how you feel and observe—what happens when you don’t offer again? I’d love to hear your reflections in the comments below.

And if you’d like to surround yourself with others embarking on a recovery path, join us on Thursdays for our virtual Double Circle Recovery meeting. All are welcome.