Summary of Step One from Paths to Recovery
We admitted we were powerless over alcohol (people, places, things) - that our lives had become unmanageable.
The three C's describing our powerlessness over alcoholism: we didn't cause it, can't cure it, and can't control it. We begin to learn the basic Al-Anon premise of taking our focus off of the alcoholic and keeping the focus on ourselves.
We were trying to fix a disease - and someone else's disease at that!
To find peace and serenity in our lives we have to change - a challenging, and perhaps fearful, thought.
We may have to re-learn to take care of ourselves. We developed the habit of putting that other person's needs first.
We are trying to control the people and situations in our lives. It can be hard to conceive that our well-meaning efforts have been part of the problem. We have to admit that nothing we do or don't do can control another person's drinking.
We learn to accept the things we cannot change the alcoholic and change the things we can (ourselves). To recover we have to learn to keep the focus on ourselves.
By letting go of the illusion of control over other people, their actions and their addiction to alcohol, we find an enormous burden is lifted and we begin to discover the freedom and the power we do possess - the power to define and live our own lives.
When we try to control others, we lose the ability to manager our own lives.
There are things that we can't change. Accepting that I am powerless over alcohol puts an end to struggling. It frees me to work on things that can be changed. It means telling God, "I can't do it alone. I need Your help".
I am responsible for me. I am not responsible for antoehr person's happiness, nor are they responsible for mine. I know that no one else can control myemotions. No one can make me angry, sad, happy or anything else without me giving them permission to do so. My feelings are my own.
The three C's describing our powerlessness over alcoholism: we didn't cause it, can't cure it, and can't control it. We begin to learn the basic Al-Anon premise of taking our focus off of the alcoholic and keeping the focus on ourselves.
We were trying to fix a disease - and someone else's disease at that!
To find peace and serenity in our lives we have to change - a challenging, and perhaps fearful, thought.
We may have to re-learn to take care of ourselves. We developed the habit of putting that other person's needs first.
We are trying to control the people and situations in our lives. It can be hard to conceive that our well-meaning efforts have been part of the problem. We have to admit that nothing we do or don't do can control another person's drinking.
We learn to accept the things we cannot change the alcoholic and change the things we can (ourselves). To recover we have to learn to keep the focus on ourselves.
By letting go of the illusion of control over other people, their actions and their addiction to alcohol, we find an enormous burden is lifted and we begin to discover the freedom and the power we do possess - the power to define and live our own lives.
When we try to control others, we lose the ability to manager our own lives.
There are things that we can't change. Accepting that I am powerless over alcohol puts an end to struggling. It frees me to work on things that can be changed. It means telling God, "I can't do it alone. I need Your help".
I am responsible for me. I am not responsible for antoehr person's happiness, nor are they responsible for mine. I know that no one else can control myemotions. No one can make me angry, sad, happy or anything else without me giving them permission to do so. My feelings are my own.
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