Thought for the Week

Timothy D. Stein, MFT, CSAT

November 7, 2016

“Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip.” –Will Rogers

How we conduct our lives in public may be very different from how we conduct our lives in private.  For someone in recovery, this is problematic as it represents basing choices and actions on consequences.  In recovery, we strive to develop an internal compass that guides us regardless of whether others witness or acknowledge our choices and actions.  Holding boundaries around triggering situations, making amends to others, putting our trash (big or small) in the garbage, and making other choices or taking actions that match our values are important and necessary regardless of whether others know we have done these things or not.  True recovery asks us to live by our values in private as well as in public.

What has been the consequence of not living my values because I thought no one would find out?  What has been the outcome when I lived my values even when it was tough?  What gifts await me as I work to live my values in private as well as in public?