As you start moving through your steps, you will get a clearer understanding that you are powerless over alcohol and begin to see you need a spiritual connection to remain sober. After this revelation, you will find yourself embarking on Step 3. This vital step can lead you in a better direction altogether because you will be led in the direction of your Higher Power instead of your self-will run riot.
Step 3, states, “Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.”
With each step you have taken, you progressed with the knowledge of how out of control you were in your addiction. As you learn about why you drank and used, you also find out that you need more help than you were willing to ask for. First, you started out with people, and then you began to realize that you need something bigger to aid in your recovery. The “God” part of this step may be throwing you off, but you should focus on the end of the step instead. Concentrate on the “as we understood Him” part so that you can comprehend what a Higher Power means to you personally.
Take what you need and leave the rest.
For Step 3 to work for you, you must find a Higher Power of your own understanding.
Although your past may be holding you back in your connection, this step is intended to give you the leverage to find your own conception. What you have learned before will not help you to get sober if you do not have faith to believe it, or if this knowledge makes you feel like a failure to not live up to a certain standard. The point is to get to a place of focusing on your own spirituality, what it means to you, and what it will do for your sobriety. Turning your will over may be hard to do because of the intangibility that spirituality entails. Do your best because this is how faith is formed.
Take an open-minded approach.
For you to be able to grasp onto to spirituality, you have to be open to hearing about it. When you go to meetings, listen to how others started a relationship with their Higher Power. There are many people who were skeptical of the whole Higher Power concept who went on to have beautiful relationships with a power greater than themselves. This took some effort, of course, to find the reward in seeking this relationship on their own terms. Throwing out their religious upbringing for spiritual principles seemed to really improve their spiritual growth. Being open-minded does not mean that you have to do everything that everyone else does. This just means that you are willing to take a look at someone’s approach without judgment and see if it could benefit you.
Take away your control for better results.
Obviously, you did not get sober because everything was rainbows and unicorns. Life got really difficult for you because you were doing what you wanted when you wanted without a concern for anything or anyone else. What you were doing before was clearly not working. You get a do-over at this point which should propel you to do something different. If you want something you have never had, you have to do something you have never done. Try connecting to a Higher Power now that you are sober and see what happens. You have nothing to lose!
Take action that can boost your spirituality.
You may be clueless as to what to do when it comes to turning your will over to a Higher Power. The best thing you can do is find a sponsor who makes you think about spirituality and do what they do. Implement some prayers, mediation, daily devotionals, and gratitude lists to see what happens for you. Meditation may be one of those buzz words that still confuses you. Meditation, however, can be useful to turn your will over. Pausing in all your busyness can give you some clarity to see your shortcomings and resolve them. Changing how you approach spirituality is imperative to experience the benefits that come from seeking a Higher Power.
Take your time to be thorough.
Rome was not built in a day and your spirituality will also need some time to evolve. You take your sobriety one day at a time and this should include your spirituality. Try your utmost to turn your will over to your Higher Power without being too hard on yourself. The mistakes that you make will be instrumental in learning what to do as well as what not to do. If you are even thinking about doing the will of your Higher Power, you are already on a better track than you were before.
Step 3 will be a life-changing step to add to your daily life. Rather than take things into your own hands as a form of control, surrendering to the fact that you are ready to turn your will over can relieve stress and worry abundantly.
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