Most of us come into treatment with a closed mind. We don’t want to be here. We don’t agree with the person(s) or situation that brought us here and we are going to make sure that everyone around us knows it.
We think our situation is different than that of others and sometimes we even think we are different or better than others. We even go as far as trying to bring others down with us because, as we know, misery loves miserable company.
Somewhere along the line we must stop the power struggle within, “cease fighting everything and everyone”, surrender and begin to understand the Power of H.O.W. By now all of us should know that H.O.W. stands for Honesty, Open-mindedness and Willingness. If we do not do this we stand little to no chance of ever recovering from our “seemingly hopeless state of mind and body”.
Let’s take a moment to look at the definitions of these words and apply them to our personal and collective recovery.
Dictionary.com defines it as;
Honesty; truthfulness, sincerity; or frankness; freedom from deceit or fraud; the word originally had more to do with honor than honest.
Open-mindedness having or showing a mind receptive to new ideas or arguments; unprejudiced; unbigoted; impartial; receptive to different ideas or the opinions of others.
Willingness; disposed or consenting; inclined; willing to go along; cheerfully consenting or ready: a willing worker with cheerful readiness; ready to act gladly; eagerly compliant, voluntarily or ungrudgingly.
Robert Pardon
Robert is the Recovery Guy. Getting clean and sober on April 25, 1986 has given me the insight and practical skill set to not only stay sober, but to also re-invent myself to the person I always wanted to become. Showing others how to do this is my life goal.
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