Living in the Solution
December 7, 2020
One of the earliest lessons learned in my recovery journey was to look for the solution for any problem I may be having. I was told for any problem I would ever have, one or more of the steps could and would apply to any problem I’ll ever have in this life. Well, guess what? They were right. This pattern of looking for the solution has been ingrained in me all of my recovery.
With that being said, I must tell you, it’s not always easy to find my solutions or to “live” in the solution. What happens is, human nature kicks in. Mine and theirs! Not everyone always complies with my big plans of living in the solution. And yes, sometimes my solutions seem to require that others do their part. LOL! So, that’s when, I need to back up and re-group, find another other solution.
Some of my most common solutions I’ve use by applying the steps and my faith, have been:
- Pray.
- Let go & Let God, this is the biggest one, the most common one for me that I come back to, time and again.
- Wait.
- Forgive.
- Love.
- Lower expectations.
- Write about it.
- Talk to my sponsor or a friend. Perhaps a counselor.
- Change my environment. This is only when I am not home and I am in a place or situation that is very uncomfortable, hostile or threatening. If I am at home, I can go to another room or outside or take a drive.
- Read. My bible or recovery literature or just go chill with a good book.
- Listen to Music. – to fit my mood or change my mood.
- Watch a movie or show that gets me out of myself. Something inspiring perhaps.
- Get busy. – If I don’t like what I see, ie – a messy house- clean it. A hungry or cold person, – give them a coat and food. A sad, hurting person, give them an ear and some prayers.
- Get out of myself. Do something for someone else.
- Recognize my powerlessness and that takes me back to, “Let go and Let God”.
Living in the solution takes surrender and work. Sometimes, doing nothing is the hardest thing. Letting something pass without interference or making ourselves crazy over things we have no power over. Last week, one of dear friends had to go for a Covid test, she went and got the speedy one so she would get results faster and be able to go back to work.
She was very anxious and inpatient waiting on the results. They told her it’d take a day or two, but it took three days. I gave her many suggestions for the waiting. Still, she chose to let herself be anxious to the point that she was gonna go drive to the doctor office and sit in the parking lot and wait. What? For two days? Now that’s a little too much. When I’m waiting on something like that, I usually start cleaning or doing some kind of work around the house and on the computer. Call all the friends that’ll talk to me and watch a good movie. Something to get my mind off of the impending doom. That’s what my head tells me anyway. I told her what my mom always told me, “no news is good news.” Her results were negative 😊.
On another note, I wanted to tell you about a boss I had once that told us all, “if you don’t have a solution to your problem, don’t be bringing me your problems.” Consequently, I never went to her with a problem! What was the point? Instead I went to other co-workers seeking solutions on how to best solve a problem, getting ideas from them about how they did it. Two heads are better than one. And now, there is always Google! Ha!
There are more reasons than I can count or list to need some ideas for “Living in the Solution”, and the ideas I listed are only a few, I’m sure you have other ideas. I can think of ones that involved cuddling and being with your sweetie. 😊
Question of the Week: How do you get to your solutions?
