Thought for the Week

Timothy D. Stein, MFT, CSAT

October 31, 2016

Do I need an American or a Japanese factory?

My uncle used to travel the world visiting various factories.  He shared a difference between American and Japanese factories.  In American factories barriers protect people from walking into dangerous areas.  In Japanese factories, there are no barriers, just yellow lines.  When my uncle asked how they keep people safe in Japanese factories, the answer was “If you stay on this side of the yellow line, you’ll be fine.  If you cross the yellow line, you might die.  Don’t cross the yellow line.”  American factories attempt to keep people safe whether or not they respect the boundaries.  Japanese factories put responsibility on the individual to respect boundaries and keep themselves safe.  In sobriety, we often need to start in an “American factory” meaning relying on internet filters and boundaries that provide a barrier despite our actions.  These barriers are helpful in keeping us sober early on.  As our sobriety strengthens, it is important to transition to a “Japanese factory” meaning we learn to be responsible for consistently respecting and holding boundaries regarding our addiction.  If we can’t learn to eventually live in a “Japanese factory” our sobriety is inherently unstable.

When have barriers outside of my control been helpful to me?  When have I been consistently successful at taking responsibility for maintaining my boundaries?  What gifts await me as I acknowledge how much responsibility I can realistically take on regarding addiction boundaries?  Do I need an American or a Japanese factory right now?