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how to stop being indecisive 1 How To Stop Being Indecisive

How To Stop Being Indecisive (7 Ways To Make Up Your Damn Mind!)

Just Do Something! Nothing is more destructive emotionally than the habit of indecision. It’s equivalent to living Step 0. You know, merely going round n’ round the merry-go-round of “other alternatives.” Never making actual decisions, just floating back and forth between numerous potential decisions… “Maybe … Read More

The Qualities Of A Good Friend (And Yes, FAT Folks Make The Best Friends)

Weird title, right? Don’t be dismayed! Let my explain…. Do you ever loathe socializing? You know, set dates with enthusiasm and then mentally die when the day arrives? Better yet, do you spend more time socializing through a medium like Instagram than partake in actual … Read More

Exposure And Response Prevention: Break The Avoidance-Cycle

Where’s Your Humility! Are you white-knuckling your way through sobriety? Do you want to get drunk but feel too embarrassed to share it? Do you think you know it all and think the advice of your peers is moronic and unhelpful? Well, my friend, you … Read More

Do I Need Religion To Recover? (The Abstinence Myth)

This is a great question and quite frankly there is probably no adequate answer. I’m sure you’re looking for a “yes” or a “no”…. But I’ll do you one better. How about a yes and a no. “The mind is its own place, and in … Read More

Social Prescribing & The AQAL Map

I recently watched a Johann Hari Ted Talk. If any of you have read his material or listened to him speak, you know he’s quite a controversial journalist. He tends to deliver more a less a pitch for a specific concept that lay on the … Read More

The Nonself & The Power Of The Invite & The Ego

Years ago I was invited to do a Gospel reading during Catholic Mass. I want to say what drove me was my love for the divine liturgy, but naturally, I’m anxious. Combine that nauseating feeling (I call it persistent-gut-wrenching-impending-doomism) with a social gathering and I’m … Read More

Are We Weak Willed? 7 Signs Our Culture Has Sacrificed Character For Image

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”— Helen Keller It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out something is greatly wrong with our culture…not that rocket … Read More

8 Myths (The One’s That Matter) About Sobriety: Wake The F*ck Up

The fact that life seems dull without drugs and alcohol is a testament to the idiocracy of our culture. It’s no accident that the Marlboro man was cool. It’s certainly no coincidence that beer commercials always consist of people having the time of their lives. … Read More

The Twelve Steps

3 Reasons The Irrationality Of Alcoholics Anonymous Is Laughable

Why does addiction recovery have a mysterious air about it? Science can perform freaking heart transplants and more or less control behavior by manipulating chemical impulses in the brain – yet millions die each year from addiction. We can use an ultrasound machine and leverage … Read More

Step 12 AA: Smash The Delusion!

“Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.” Step 12 AA Step 12 Mandate #1: Carry This Message You know what grinds my gears? When you ask … Read More

AA Step 11: The First Fruits Of Emotional Balance

“Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.”The Eleventh Step I struggled to find whose words best conveyed the punch-you-right-in-the-kisser confrontation … Read More

Step 10 (AA) Twelve Step Accountability

“Continued To Take Personal Inventory And When We Were Wrong Promptly Admitted It.” You made it through the meat and potatoes. The first nine steps have left you well-fed and plump. Emotional indigestion notwithstanding, I’d argue you’re in a much better position than you were … Read More

4 Principles of Step Nine (Alcoholics Anonymous)

You’re likely either terrified at this prospect or thrilled. If you’re anything like me, you’re both simultaneously. Yup, that’s me – driving 100 miles per hour with the emergency break up. Indeed, I need a map drawn for me to handle even the most mundane … Read More

Step 8 AA: Some Faith, A List, & Readiness

“Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.” Choice Theory William Glasser, the renegade behaviorism-is-for-chumps psychiatrist, had some radical concepts that I believe can aid us in uncovering precisely the purpose of AA’s Step Eight … Read More

Book Summaries

AA Back To Basics: The Brainchild Of AA Or Wally P?

Wally P’s “Back To Basics” Speaking of the basics, is there ever a time when working the 12-Steps that one is beyond basic? I’ve heard the 12-Steps described as spiritual kindergarten or as the pancakes “just add water” variety. I think once more the question … Read More

Smart Recovery Handbook: The ABC Crash Course (REBT)

Therapeutic Presuppositions Presuppositions, as a necessary precondition for knowledge, have always fascinated me. When in my early twenties I was first introduced to Cornelius Van Til and his celebrated presuppositional apologetics my brain practically burned out at the synapses. Like the so-called transcendental argument, I … Read More

Summary Of The Four Agreements: Toltec Wisdom Uncovered

Simple But Not Easy. The above principles are not hard to digest; they are simple and reasonable. Moreover, a nauseating amount of books can be found in your local bookstore all basically saying the same thing. So what makes this book so special? What makes … Read More

Inspiration

17 Of The Best Road Less Traveled Quotes (M. Scott Peck)

Who Was M. Scott Peck? “M. Scott Peck, American psychiatrist (born May 22, 1936, New York, N.Y.—died Sept. 25, 2005, Warren, Conn.), wrote the best-selling book The Road Less Traveled (1978), which was credited with revolutionizing the self-help genre. Self-help books had typically offered tips for succeeding in business, … Read More

20 Revolutionary Carl Jung Quotes

Who Is C.G. Jung? “Carl Jung, in full Carl Gustav Jung, (born July 26, 1875, Kesswil, Switzerland—died June 6, 1961, Küsnacht), Swiss psychologist and psychiatrist who founded analytic psychology, in some aspects a response to Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis. Jung proposed and developed the concepts of the extraverted and the … Read More

30 Life-Changing Epictetus Quotes

Who Is Epictetus? “A Greek philosopher of 1st and early 2nd centuries C.E., and an exponent of Stoic ethics notable for the consistency and power of his ethical thought and for effective methods of teaching. Epictetus’s chief concerns are with integrity, self-management, and personal freedom, which he … Read More

Q&A

Can An Alcoholic Become A Social Drinker? The Devastating Truth (2020)

The sober path is chosen due to a variety of factors. Some folks decide to stop because of financial strain, emotional turmoil, or failing physical health. For others, they just don’t like how alcohol makes them feel, it’s simply run its course. However, there is … Read More