October 20

”A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.” Sir Francis Bacon

One thing my addict was good at was making opportunities to act out. This is a skill that I need to apply in my recovery - to utilize as much or more time as I used to put into planning to play in my middle and inner circles to now focus on my outer circle. This means doing things like creating a recovery routine, having SAA literature readily available at home, at work, or on the go. It can be as simple as replacing a phone number of an acting out partner with a number from someone in the program. Installing a cyber-blocking program on my PC and entrusting the password to someone like my sponsor is also a good idea. I can and have made many excuses to not get to a meeting, not do some work in my recovery books or to call a friend. When I reflect on the lengths I used to go to so I could act out, it is usually pretty easy to find the motivation that is lacking to be able to make a better choice. I need to be committed to put in at least half, if not all, of the effort that I spent on acting out to be working my program if I truly expect to move forward, ever mindful that I am seeking progress and not perfection.

Affirmation I gain time in letting go of my addiction and need to be conscious about choosing outer circle activities to fill it with.