Are you capable of becoming a thief? For that matter, are you capable of breaking your own moral code?

As someone in recovery who has the privilege of working with others in recovery, the answer to the above question is a resounding yes.

I have known amazing people who would lie, cheat, steal, and cross every boundary to serve their addiction. When they first started drinking, gambling, or using drugs, most would have promised you that there was no way they would have crossed certain lines. Yet once addicted, the only thing that matters is serving our addiction.

Most Ponzi schemers didn’t start off with the intention of stealing any funds. They fudged the numbers, at first intending to pay it back the following month or quarter when things got better, only to go deeper and deeper into the hole.

Is the answer to never have a drink and never gamble, or is the answer doing these things in moderation?

I really think the answer is to be honest with yourself, and know who you are and what your challenges and limitations are. If you are a greedy person, then you might not be the best person to manage your company’s finances. Similarly, if you are prone to addiction, then why even risk it?

We are all ultimately responsible for being familiar with our human defects and finding ways to fuel the fire in a healthy manner.

Don’t ignore who you are, just channel it into something positive. Someone who likes violence, let him become a butcher. Someone who likes sales, have them sell something pure and beneficial.

The key is having awareness and clarity, and never pretending that we are above bad decisions and poor choices.

Find a teacher, find a group of people that you can be honest with about your personal challenges and inappropriate desires, and find ways to feed them that aren’t harmful to others or to yourself.

This week, let’s not judge others for their actions. We have no idea what we would do if we were in their shoes.

Accountability, Community, Unconditional Love

Asher

I want to remind all of you that you can hear more on my podcast, Showing Up. We have lots of amazing shows with interesting guests on a variety of personal development topics. It would be great if you could also rate 5 stars, review and subscribe to the show. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/showing-up-with-asher-gottesman/id1489856285y