JFT December 20
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Chapel Hill, NC
Posts: 2,274
JFT December 20
December 20
Overcoming self-obsession
In living the steps, we begin to let go of our self-obsession.
Basic Text, p. 97
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Many of us came to the program convinced that our feelings, our wants, and our needs were of the utmost importance to everyone. We had practiced a lifetime of self-seeking, self-centered behavior and believed it was the only way to live.
That self-centeredness doesnt cease just because we stop using drugs. Perhaps we attend our first NA function and are positive that everyone in the room is watching us, judging us, and condemning us. We may demand that our sponsor be on call to listen to us whenever we wantand they, in turn, may gently suggest that the world does not revolve around us. The more we insist on being the center of the universe, the less satisfied we will be with our friends, our sponsor, and everything else.
Freedom from self-obsession can be found through concentrating more on the needs of others and less on our own. When others have problems, we can offer help. When newcomers need rides to meetings, we can pick them up. When friends are lonely, we can spend time with them. When we find ourselves feeling unloved or ignored, we can offer the love and attention we need to someone else. In giving, we receive much more in returnand thats a promise we can trust.
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Just for today: I will share the world with others, knowing they are just as important as I am. I will nourish my spirit by giving of myself.
Overcoming self-obsession
In living the steps, we begin to let go of our self-obsession.
Basic Text, p. 97
=
Many of us came to the program convinced that our feelings, our wants, and our needs were of the utmost importance to everyone. We had practiced a lifetime of self-seeking, self-centered behavior and believed it was the only way to live.
That self-centeredness doesnt cease just because we stop using drugs. Perhaps we attend our first NA function and are positive that everyone in the room is watching us, judging us, and condemning us. We may demand that our sponsor be on call to listen to us whenever we wantand they, in turn, may gently suggest that the world does not revolve around us. The more we insist on being the center of the universe, the less satisfied we will be with our friends, our sponsor, and everything else.
Freedom from self-obsession can be found through concentrating more on the needs of others and less on our own. When others have problems, we can offer help. When newcomers need rides to meetings, we can pick them up. When friends are lonely, we can spend time with them. When we find ourselves feeling unloved or ignored, we can offer the love and attention we need to someone else. In giving, we receive much more in returnand thats a promise we can trust.
=
Just for today: I will share the world with others, knowing they are just as important as I am. I will nourish my spirit by giving of myself.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Chapel Hill, NC
Posts: 2,274
My drug using was all about self-obsession. I was obsessed with taking chemicals to make me feel a certain way. When I stop using those chemicals, I still have to deal with the self-obsession. Through working the steps of NA, I am losing some of that self-obsession. I am learning to think more about others and less about myself.
Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 76
This JFT is right on time for me! I have been feeling generally dissatisfied with others lately. I prayed earlier today for relief from this feeling, telling my HP that I didn't know what was wrong. Then I get home and read this posting.
Through step-work in recovery, I am a little bit less self-obsessed. But I have more work to do. Thank you, REZ, for posting this. My HP sent me a message through this reading today!
Through step-work in recovery, I am a little bit less self-obsessed. But I have more work to do. Thank you, REZ, for posting this. My HP sent me a message through this reading today!
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