When something doesn’t go our way, what do we do? Is our first instinct to give up and go on to another activity or task? Or do we take a few minutes to figure out our next move, which may be to utilize a slightly different approach, modify our tactics, or enlist help or support? The answer to this question is important, and it does change over time. There are instances where we may feel overwhelmed by everything that seems to be stacked against us. We may lack resilience or be in poor health, physically or mentally, and therefore feel unable to cope with the challenge presented to us. It could also be that we lack a strong and available support network, without which we flail about and attempt to find workable solutions to life’s everyday stresses and problems ourselves. In truth, everyone faces difficulties, encounters obstacles that seem insurmountable, runs into a problem that defies explanation or that seems to have no positive outcome. We can be challenged at any time and anyplace. In recovery, sometimes it seems as though the more we progress, the harder some challenges become. This may be a sign of us becoming stronger. The reality is that we attempt slightly more difficult challenges and tasks, take up more difficult projects and investigate new areas of opportunity as we continue to achieve successes in recovery. We do this as a matter of choice, for we know that by learning new things, we grow. The more we grow, the stronger we get. And the stronger we get, the more confident we are that we will be able to surmount any difficulties and challenges that come our way. Indeed, as others have suggested, and we hear so often in the stories related by our friends and allies in the rooms of recovery, it is by overcoming obstacles and adversity that we gain such strength. We learn, for example, that we can do that which we may have thought ourselves incapable of. We can take pride in that fact, knowing that we had to exert some considerable time and effort in order to achieve the outcome we desired and worked for. Think of overcoming adversity as a positive step that we can take. No one else can do it for us. We must do it ourselves. We lift ourselves up from the adversity as a result of the actions we take to get beyond it, to deny it the power to hold us back or thwart our hopes and dreams. This does not mean that we will never again encounter or experience adversity, but that we know we’ll be able to deal with it effectively – and make use of our recovery toolkit – when and if it does recur.
Posted on: Tue, 06 May 2014 12:55:57 +0000
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