Living in the 10th Step

And today I'm going to give you a brief update on what my experience starting and working on step 10 with my sponsor has been like now, what is step 10, for those of you who aren't familiar with working in the 12 step programs? It is continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it now with that in mind. It is something that I feel like whether you're working at 12 step program or not, it's a great thing to help you with your sobriety.

If I recommend it for everyone, just basically trying to be a better person and taking the chance to step back. If you're feeling like you're not at your best in the 12 and 12. And there was an excerpt that I really liked says when a drunk has a terrific hangover because he drank heavily yesterday. He can not live well today, but there is another kind of hangover, which we all experienced, whether we are drinking or not. That is the emotional hangover, the direct result of yesterdays.

And sometimes today's accesses of negative emotions, anger, fear, jealousy, and the like, if we would live serenely today and tomorrow, we certainly need to eliminate these tangles. This doesn't mean we need to wander morbidly around in the past. It requires an admission and correction of errors. Now our inventory enables us to settle with the past. When this is done, we are really able to leave it behind us.

When our inventory is carefully taken and we have made peace with ourselves, the convictions that follow that tomorrow's challenges can be met with as they. So with that, we all remember what actual hangovers were like and how hard it was to start that next day clinging on onto the not only physical ailments, but the emotional ailments of having that hangover. But instead of sobriety, it's still coming to suffer from emotional hangovers. When we aren't doing our metaphorical housekeeping.

I know that, you know, recently I was being off of one of the three, any depressants I was on because I've been doing so well. My psychiatrist recommended that I did not do that on my own, but there was a rubber band effect where for a week or two afterwards, I was feeling more irritable, restless, and discontent as well as just feeling down and doing my inventory, helped me realize the cause of that and understand that, that it wasn't because everything was horrible or because.

I really was upset with a person or a situation, but it was just my body's natural reaction to not being on a medication that I had become used to being on for quite some time. Now, there are many ways to keep your inventory in check. Most notably they talk about spot checks and daily reflections. Now Spock checks are done throughout the day. If you're finding yourself in a moment where you're feeling irritable, restless, or discontent, take a moment and identify. Think about what the cosmetics.

Are you really angry at the driver in front of you for going too slow? Or are you nervous about being late to your next appointment or are you frustrated at something else? Speaking of frustration, it's also a good reminder to avoid halts feeling hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. Not only is, are those important tips for newcomers, but it's something that all of us can become victim to. If we don't pay attention you know, if you're feeling hungry, have this.

If you're feeling angry, take a moment to identify why and sometimes meditating or saying the serenity prayer, or doing something that brings you calmness and peace of mind will help with that. If you're feeling lonely, definitely reach out to someone and talk about it. I know that I'm very apt to be lonely if I'm not doing my check-ins with my fellows and my friends that I've made in the program, as well as through this podcast.

And if you're tired, take a nap when you don't sleep well, it definitely affects you the next day. And so if you're able to get a couple extra minutes in to rest your eyes, it can do wonders and making you feel better about the situation you're in and that you're able to handle it a little a little bit better. And then you also have daily reflections reflecting at the end of the day to revisit not only areas for improvement, but also victories.

Of course you want to reflect back on if you cost harms to anyone and how you can make a map. But also, what did you do? Right. You know, of course there are going to be big accomplishments, like a success at work, or a breakthrough with a friend or a great moment with a family member or loved. But even on the normal days where nothing spectacular happens to you think back, you know, did you stay sober? Did you cook a meal for yourself? Did you shower? Did you clean up around the house?

Like what, even the small victories are worth celebrating and our sobriety because a lot of those things are things that we weren't able to do when we were interactive addiction. And so the fact that we're able to continue to do them now, it's something that needs to be sellable. And those are where I'm at with my step 10. So far, I still haven't quote unquote graduated from it yet with my sponsor. We are still working on it, but it definitely is something that I found very helpful.

It's one of those steps that I was unconsciously doing in advance beforehand. Especially the spot checks. There have been so many moments recently where I'm wondering like, why am I feeling the way that I'm feeling? And I take the time rather than just living in those feelings, feeling overwhelmed, feeling depressed, feeling irritable, that once I'm able to really understand why. I'm feeling the things that I'm feeling. I end up feeling better because I'm able to identify it.

And so it certainly is something that is helping me stay sober. And hopefully this episode has helped you stay sober as well. Now, looking down our pipeline for episodes, I'm not only looking for new guests to share their experience, strength and hope with you all, but I'm also going to be reaching out to have returning guests on to discuss topics related to sobriety. So I'd love to hear from you whether you want to join us or request a guest or a title. I mean, who have you listened to that?

You want more of? Let me know by emailing [email protected]. I want to thank you for listening. Please rate and review. If you found this information helpful and be sure to follow us wherever you're listening so you can get new episodes when they come out every Monday and Thursday, and until next time stay sober friends.