“You can’t heal what you don’t feel” 

I’m going to be talking with you about one of the seven steps to happiness as taught to me by my favorite and highly respected recovery teacher, mentor, guru, Tommy Rosen. When applied to all aspects of your life, these seven steps will lead to greater happiness and freedom.

To begin with, I want to distinguish between addiction and recovery for the sake of talking about happiness, as there can be no true happiness or freedom while in active addiction of any kind. All happiness, all healing, all recovery begins on the inside. It is an inside job.

Addiction

Addiction, of any kind, is separation or turning away from oneself.

In addiction and addictive thinking, it feels like freedom is the ability and even the right to do what you want to do, whenever you want to do it.

Recovery

Recovery from any addiction is turning toward, returning to, or reconnecting to oneself.

In recovery, we begin to recognize that without commitment, without structure, it’s very far from freedom and a very painful way to live.

Step 1: Commitment

I Am Willing.

Commitment is essential and where it all begins. Often it’s the commitment to abstinence, support group, meetings, healing, learning about and defining your boundaries, being accountable, etc. It’s the decision to put energy toward something meaningful to you, then learn what your life has to show you to grow, evolve, heal, become healthy, happy, and free.

Willingness is Key to Commitment

I am willing to learn, grow, be accountable, do the hard things, ask the hard questions, do my work, take responsibility, own my actions, make amends, etc. 

We begin to look at our life and determine what is serving us and what we need to let go of.

Being willing allows us to identify and define our core values, the principles we want to live by, and what it will take to do that. Who do I want to be and become?

Discovery Questions

• What am I currently committed to that is serving me? What is not serving me?
• What are my core values and am I aligned with them?
• Are my thoughts, my words, my actions agreeing with each other or in alignment?

Commitment leads to character.

Committing is where we begin to put into action new behaviors, new ways of living and being. But we can’t do that if we don’t have structure. Part of creating structure is identifying, defining, and then living from your core values and principles. Do you know without question what your core values are?

Next week I’ll be talking about our character and what that involves, and how a life based on a true commitment leads to change and living an authentic life.