A client who’d been in our program for several months was confronted about not doing anything. He wasn't going to meetings. He wasn't doing chores. He wasn't volunteering to help newcomers or serving on committees. All he was doing was going to work, and then vegetating in his room.
"I'm just totally exhausted all the time," he said in his defense. "I don't have energy to do anything."
"Do you smoke?" Asked the group moderator.
He did. Then the moderator asked him several more questions about exercise, about meditation, and about the kind of job he had. It turned out he had a job where he sat all day at a telemarketing company, with little physical activity. In addition, he was about 75 pounds overweight, drank a lot of soda and ate mostly junk food.
"Do you think your lifestyle might have something to do with you being exhausted?" The moderator asked.
While the client didn’t disagree, he had what he thought were good reasons why he couldn't change. He couldn’t afford a gym and didn't have enough money to eat right. Smoking helped lower his stress. They were all excuses that would allow him to stay stuck exactly where he was at: exhausted.
At TLC we sometimes see longer term clients get comfortable and lazy. Once they're sober for a while, they lose the energy and drive they had when they first got sober. They forget about the meetings they went to every day for the first 90 days. They’ve gotten sober but they haven’t developed a healthy lifestyle along with it. They sink into a comfortable lethargy, where they play video games, watch television, and eat crappy food. Before long they're overweight and unhealthy, unmotivated and depressed.
Sometimes we tell clients that if they put just 25% of the energy into rebuilding their lives as they did to screw it up they will be wildly successful. Quitting smoking, eating right and exercising takes self-discipline and effort. But the payoff is less depression, more energy and a positive attitude that allows us to realize our potential.
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