Extracting Value and Leaving the Rest

Extracting Value and Leaving the Rest

In Recovery by Tree House Recovery

During any experience whereby we attempt to obtain knowledge or gain wisdom, we will inevitably encounter times where what we read, what we hear, or who we encounter will not provide the type value or information we are looking for. While in early recovery when we are desperately seeking out new perspectives and answers to our predicaments, this experience can be frustrating and can facilitate disillusionment in the newly sober addict. It is extremely crucial to formulate a reasonable approach to gaining knowledge because it will allow us to more deeply appreciate the gems of wisdom that we begin to harvest within our interactions with others, at 12-step meetings, and in connecting with other addicts in recovery.

As much as we are wired similarly considering the fact that we are all human beings, we do differ in many ways, especially with respect to different dimensions of personality. It is helpful to understand this because our personalities are “created” by our attitudes, our perceptions, our value systems, and our judgement systems; because of these differences, different types of information will be help to us that maybe isn’t helpful to another individual. While this is certainly normal, it can help us foster patience when we don’t obtain the message we might have been looking for. To use a different example, if 100 people go to church on Sunday, we wouldn’t expect that the preacher’s message would land perfectly upon all the ears the message was intended for. For some individuals, the message may have been perfectly pertinent, for others they may have found nearly no value in the message, and for a majority of the patrons, they would land somewhere in the middle. The key here is to take away the aspect of the message that is relevant to facilitating growth and to leave the rest behind.

Another action we can take to further our wisdom is by engaging with individuals who we trust so that we can have deeper discussions and where we can clarify something should we not understand it. The ability to make connections with those who have succeeded in recovery before us is invaluable.

 

Tree House Recovery of Portland, Oregon uses cutting-edge techniques in individualized programs to help men achieve freedom from addiction. Taking a holistic, sustainable approach to the inner and outer effects of addiction ensures you or your loved one will emerge with the confidence and skills to manage your addiction independently. No one is beyond help- our Admissions Counselors are available 24/7 at (503) 850-2474