A radical change in thinking

Photo by NEOM on Unsplash

I’m going to share an idea of mine that’s truly radical.

Radical, that is for those challenged by or loving someone in addiction.

Hi, I’m Mark Levine, a Licensed Independent Chemical Dependency Counselor, Life Coach and Founder of Minds at Peace LLC.

For almost 90 years now people, who from whatever addiction, have found their way into a period of sobriety will often tell you “I’m in recovery.”

Doesn’t matter if it’s 3 weeks or 30 years that word “recovery” is still used.

Hey I get it. The idea is that no one is ever “cured” from addiction and so “recovery” is a life long process.

But I hate that language.

Recovery is something you do after a prolonged illness when you return to your Pre-illness state.

And then it seems by that language that you remain at that pre-illness stage forever (or as long as you are sober).

But what kind of life is that?

I have always championed the idea that it’s because of, and through, the process of overcoming addiction that an internal environment is created that leads to unlimited personal success, not simply a return or recovery to baseline.

If baseline is where someone lives before addiction took control, and then drops down to the depths of addiction, by common definition recovery would be returning to baseline.

But this isn’t where my clients stop, they go higher. And moving from baseline to higher and higher, that’s not recovery, that’s Discovery.

It’s an exciting phase of life that leads to discovering new possibilities, discovering new ways of engaging with your world, discovering new ways to create, discovering new ways to strengthen your health and vitality. Discovering new ways to challenge yourself. and grow.

At baseline we’re done recovering. The rest of life is one of discovery. An active fearless journey of exploration.

Try using the word “discovery” instead of “recovery” for a week and see how it feels. Notice the changes. Which word motivates and challenges you more?

Let the adventure, and discovery, begin!

Want’s some help on this journey? Contact me.