18 Days of Sober Takeaways: Day 12
The Higher Power Problem
The idea of ‘a higher power’ having a hand in my recovery did not sit well with me when I first heard about it in an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.
The term is used to describe something bigger than yourself – such as a spiritual entity or personal belief – that can support your recovery.
And you have to be willing to accept that this higher power impacts your recovery outcomes.
But I was used to figuring things out for myself.
If there was a problem, I made a plan. If I didn't have enough information, I looked for more. If something wasn't working, I tried to fix it.
The suggestion that I might need to surrender some of that control was not particularly appealing.
But I misunderstood ‘surrender’, thinking it meant giving up responsibility or handing my life over to something I didn't understand.
Eventually, I began to see it differently.
Surrender to a higher power didn't mean I stopped taking decisions or responsibility for my life.
It meant accepting I could make the best decision I knew how to make and still have no control over what happened next.
That was harder for me than it sounds.
I had spent a lot of my life believing that if thought hard enough, planned carefully enough, and worked long enough, I could control the outcome.
Learning that I couldn't change anything except me became the cornerstone of my recovery.
When nothing works, what then? Find out tomorrow - Day 13 in my 18 Days of Sober Takeaways from #NationalSoberDay to #SoberOctober.
If you’d like to start on Day 1, you can find it here: 18 Days of Sober Takeaways - Day 1
To further explore any of the topics raised in my 18 Days of Sober Takeaways, or if you’d like support in stopping drinking, please visit:
Substack: Sally Cardy - Transformative Recovery Solutions