[bluidkiti]

November 22

Quote of the Week

"It is always easier to take someone else’s inventory"

I was a master at blaming others before I entered the program. Everything that was wrong about my life, or that could go wrong, was somebody’s or something else’s fault. I didn’t succeed at work because the company, the sales leads, or the economy was terrible. I didn’t have the relationships I wanted because no one understood me. On and on I went, in every situation, detailing the things that were wrong. Rarely did I stop to consider that I was the common denominator in it all.

As I started writing inventories in recovery, and when I was finally introduced to the fourth column of the Fourth Step called “my part,” I was taken aback. When my sponsor suggested that I begin taking my own inventory and owning up to my part of what was wrong in my life, I was even a little resentful. “But look at what my parents did,” I complained. “And at work they still skipped over me for that promotion,” I moaned. By carefully focusing on my behaviors in those situations, though, a different pattern emerged.

The freedom the program offers me comes from recognizing, owning, and finally changing the only thing I do have some power over—myself. Once I clearly see where I am at fault—perhaps the company didn’t promote me because I had a bad attitude and showed up late most of the time—I can begin to make changes that finally influence my life in a positive way. By being willing to own my side of the street, and by asking God to help me keep it cleaner, I’ve been able to let go of always judging and blaming others—and that allows me to have a much better life.