Can you say what is your purpose? How do you decide what to do on a daily basis? What do you want to be “when you grow up”?

This episode is inspired by the book Life on Purpose.

• How has recovery challenged me to articulate my values and my purpose?
• What is the purpose of “purpose”?
  • Give direction and meaning to my life
  • Articulate what matters to me
• Creating my life vs taking life for granted.
• Live a longer and healthier life?
• “So let’s imagine a drug that was shown to add years to your life; reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke; cut your risk of Alzheimer’s disease by more than half; help you relax during the day and sleep better at night; double your chances of staying drug- and alcohol-free after treatment; activate your natural killer cells; diminish your inflammatory cells; increase your good cholesterol; and repair your DNA. What if this imaginary drug reduced hospital stays so much that it put a dent in the national health-care crisis? Oh, and as a bonus, gave you better sex? The pharmaceutical company who made the drug would be worth billions. The inventors of the drug would receive Nobel Prizes and have institutes named for them! But it’s not a drug. It’s purpose. And it’s free. Oh, and the side effects? More friends. More happiness. Deeper engagement in life. And did I mention better sex?”
• Eudaimonic (self-transcending) vs Hedonic (self-enhancing) pleasure.
  • Eudaimonic pleasure: Connecting with our (inner) divinity, living in harmony with it.
  • Hedonic pleasure: gratifying short-term desires.
  • How do we do this in recovery? Step 11!
• How do I find and describe my purpose?
  • Consider my different roles? Do I have a purpose in each of those roles?
    • Community
    • Work
    • Family
    • Self
  • What do I want written on my headstone? (“Mentor, Husband and Father”? Or “Highest score in Candy Crush”?)
• What are my values?
  • From episode 101: Integrity, Commitment, Acceptance, Love
  • How do these drive my purpose?
  • What other values might be part of my purpose?
  • What are the values of people I admire? How do they live their purposes?
• Affirming values as a reason for behavior change enhances the ability to make that change. (Connecting to Steps 6 & 7.)
  • A positive approach to behavior change.
  • From AA Big Book: “On awakening let us think about the twenty-four hours ahead. We consider our plans for the day. Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives.”
  • And “When we retire at night, we constructively review our day.”
• What are my goals (based on my values)? (Statements starting with “To…”)
  • To lead others into recovery. (Community)
  • To create software that makes a difference in people’s lives. (Work)
  • To be a loving and committed husband, father, and son. (Family)
  • To be fully present and to enjoy life. (Personal)
• Self-transcendance
  • Step 3 – Living according to my Higher Power’s will.
  • “Make the other band members look and sound good. Bring out the best in them; that’s your job.” – CHRISSIE HYNDE
  • Find a self-transcending “why” for what I do, and I will do better!
  • But also: set good boundaries!
• Time management or Energy management?
  • It’s really about energy management.
  • Positive affirmation of values and purpose can increase energy. (also “gratitude list”)
  • But not just energy – it needs direction. Without a direction, all the energy in the world is unlikely to accomplish something.
  • Roughly two thousand years ago, the Stoic philosopher Seneca wrote, “When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind.”
• Sources of energy
  • Positive emotions or actions.
  • Beauty
  • Doing things for myself
  • SPACE acronym:
  • Physical activity
  • Eating well
  • Sleeping well
  • Presence
  • Creativity
• Willpower
  • “Now don’t say you can’t swear off drinking; it’s easy. I’ve done it a thousand times.” W. C. FIELDS
  • Positive energy, affirming values, and considering purpose increases will power. (Also SPACE.)
  • “ psychologists have found that willpower acts in a similar manner to a muscle: it can be depleted after mental exertion, it can be strengthened, and it can be fueled.”
• Using and achieving purpose
  • “The life we receive is not short, but we make it so, nor do we have any lack of it, but are wasteful of it.” SENECA
  • Steps 10, 11, 12.

Upcoming topics include Step 1. Please call us at 734-707-8795 or email feedback@therecoveryshow.com with your questions or experience, strength and hope. Or just leave a comment right here.

Links

Some episodes with Step 1 topics:

Episode 52: My Story

Episode 2: Powerlessness 

Episode 3: Acceptance 

Episode 7: Letting go 

Charlie recommended the book The Good Death: An Exploration of Dying in America.

Music from the show

Twenty one pilots: Kitchen Sink

The Killers: Human

R.E.M: Find the River