Investing in the New Norm
Some have failed so often in the past, that they expect to fail. It becomes their “new normal.” Based on their undeniable record, others begin to peg them as “repeat failures.”
That attitude becomes a stronghold in the mind that shapes future expectations. Defeat becomes predictable. These valuable people become the “discards” of society who we feel sorry for.
Two drunks saw a man laying “spread eagle” atop some mattresses as the truck sped down the city street. One said to the other, “Look, someone threw away a perfectly good human being!”
The failure mentality can be generations deep. Like a guy who professes, “I come from a long line of failures, what do you expect?”
When presented with the option for change, most of us opt for the familiar, whether good or bad. The familiar is more comfortable, so we settle back into our old norm. What does this have to do with recovering alcoholics and drug addicts? Everything!
The greatest challenge DFM faces is not the physicality of addiction to substances, but the mentality that settles for failure.
Shaming, condemning, penalizing do not work against the forces of failure. Only strong divine intervention, steady voices of hope and a motivation to succeed can turn perpetual losers into potential winners.
There is arising from the ranks of conventional recovery a new sound that calls us from reevaluating the problem to presenting preventive solutions. We become advocates. We dedicate and invest in cause-oriented efforts. We focus upward to serving His will with our lives. This is a worthy call to wholehearted dedication. It is the call of Jesus Christ! It appeals to the aimless and offers a viable alternative to the hopelessness.
For me the recovery process has been like a splint. My life was broken and through the kindness and persistence of my mentors, I was called to fight the good fight, to accept the challenge and conquer. I was not allowed the luxury of wallowing in self-pity, nor accepting a loser’s mentality. These faithful servants of God did not view me as I viewed myself or even as society had classified me.
Almost 25 years later I find myself sharing this hopeful calling with brave men and women in our venues of ministry. As you invest in DFM, you are promoting the New Norm for recovery. It is visionary. It is personal. It motivates one beyond personal maintenance to personal mission. The system yields to individual influence. Take Jesus, for example. He is a personal Savior for those who choose to believe.
Thank you!