Get Out of the Way

Getting out of the way means letting your spiritual Higher Power run the show. It means we should not let our character defects control us. It allows us to step back, relax and not live in fear. Getting out of the way also means that we should not control, direct, lead, or run our own recovery program. Getting out of the way means we let our support team run our program because they know what they are doing and we do not. Getting out of the way keeps us from picking up the first drink (and keeps us living sanely and serenely) because we are following the program set forth by people and principles that have a history of being effective.

Especially in early recovery, we should get out of the way because we don't know yet what works and our thinking is warped by our addiction. In later recovery, we should continue to get out of the way because we should still count on our support team to review our important decisions because sometimes our own confused desire for a certain result may actually be harming ourselves and others.

With regard to any problem, getting out of the way reduces stress because we are not shouldering all of the responsibility and doing it all by ourselves without the aid of others who may know better than we do and who can at least give valuable input.

It is so important to remember that the main reason people relapse is because they take back control of running their own recovery program and they just don't know how to effectively run it.

 


To-do:

Say to yourself: I will get out of the way and let my support team direct my program. I will get out of the way because my best thinking got me into trouble, and I need help today to stay out of trouble to live a new, better life. Say to yourself that it is wonderful to let someone else run the show for awhile.