In program there is a saying that represents my recovery. It's called a "three-legged stool of stability". I states that if I do the functions of each leg I will create stability in my foundation where I can park my butt solidly on the seat. For me the three legs equate to  A) Program meetings and working my steps in all my affairs with rigorous honesty and spiritualty.B) Daily program calls to my sponsor and others in fellowship and C) Taking my medication daily that assist in my psychological deficiencies. As you can tell these three areas are important to me to substain recovery in my life. What I know is that each of us has their own three-legged stool that works for them. What is a part of yours may be different from mine, but a solid foundation is what we need to sustain ourselves. The trick is to find the stool that best suits ourselves and work diligently to keep each leg strong so it supports us when we need to take a break and sit down. I know there was a time when my stool use to tip over because I had a bum leg. Today, after careful analysis, I've been able to see what three parts of my life and recovery hold me up the best...tomorrow I may change one support leg out for another support leg if I find that the new support is better at solidifying my recovery. The point being is that this, like our recovery, is a forever changing process. Adjusting to fit our needs on a daily basis, one day at a time, is all that we need to focus on...God bless my stool.

Comments (7):

• Ted N @ 09/17/2009 ( 9:45:26 PM )
  Before I came into recovery I was lucky to have one leg much less three legs. I could barely balance everything with the one leg that I had going because I had no foundation on which to build anything. Since coming into recovery I have finally after over 40 years learned about balance and been able to build that foundation that I need. Right now my three (3) legs are:
  
  1. Going to meetings and staying active in the fellowship where I am able, doing service work in my home group, and working with others.
  2. Calling my sponsor everyday and staying wiling and open to suggestions.
  3. Having a relationship with my Higher Power that I rely upon everyday and turning things over everyday knowing that as long as I do what I need to do, my Higher Power will take care of the rest.
  
  Right now these are the three (3) legs of my stool. If I feel that I am getting shaking or feeling slippery, I add a fourth leg or a fifth leg for extra stability. I will start making more phone calls or I will do extra writing or reading. I don’t want to go back out so I am going to do what I can to stay sober one day at a time.
  
• Ted N @ 09/26/2009 ( 7:35:57 PM )
  I was thinking about this post again tonight and thought that it would be good to share on it again. The reason is because my three legs are different. I am not at home, I am at my mother’s house for the weekend. That means that I cannot go to my regular meetings. I have been in a seminar for two days and then will be coming home tomorrow. The point is, without the meetings, one of my legs of the stool is gone. So I need to make sure that I replace it with something else. Looking at this post really made me think about making sure that I always have 3 legs to my stool. Luckily for me I have this blog. This blog can act as a meeting for me. So for right now my 3 legs are the blog, calling my sponsor and praying. But I need to keep this always to the forefront of my mind. I will be traveling again at the end of the week and I will need to re-evaluate my three legs again to make sure that I have a solid foundation for when I am on the road. Thanks for making me think about this.
• Ted N @ 10/04/2009 ( 5:55:47 AM )
  I just woke up and realized that I did not post last night. I am in NY and was out late last night with my friend Kim. I came home to my hotel and was exhausted and did not even go on line and check my e-mail which is what I do every night and consequently did not post, so I am posting this morning as part of my 3rd leg to keep my sobriety in check. I am up here in NY and I am making my calls, posting everyday and praying as my 3 legs to my sobriety. Today I go off on my own to NJ and PA. I know that I need to add an additional 4th leg to my stool for these next two days to keep me additionally grounded, more phone calls. This is a commitment that I made to myself and to the other guys in the rooms before I left. I said that I would call from the road. I also have some recovery CDs that I can listen to in the car if I need to if I am feeling triggered or distracted while driving on any familiar roads. I know I am a different person than I was when I left here 3 years ago, but I just wanted to have plans in place to protect myself just in case. My sobriety is too important to me right now. Talk to you again tonight from Clark NJ!
• Ted N @ 10/28/2009 ( 5:16:49 PM )
  What is my 3 legged stool right now that I am stuck at home? Calling people is always one, calling my sponsor and other people in the program. A 2nd leg is using this blog because I cannot go to meetings. But the 3rd leg is what I need to work on. I notice that I am out of my routine and I have not been praying everyday. I need to work that back into my routine. I used to pray when I came in from working out and right now I am not working out. So I need to get it back into my morning routine. I am glad that this topic is on here to remind me that I need to have 3 legs to my sobriety. I will work on that tonight so that I have a plan for the morning. Thank you.
• Ted N @ 12/03/2009 ( 12:38:48 AM )
  I seem to be the only one that likes this post but I like what it means. For me it helps remind me what I need to be doing on a daily basis. I have put step work back into my daily routine and I love it. It really helps me stay grounded. It also helps me stay focused on my program and it puts a place back in my day for prayer. I then have another leg of phone calls both in coming and out going that helps me. And lastly of course are the meetings. Right now these three things are helping me on a daily basis. The step work is the latest addition and a big help and of course prayer is a huge help because when I let my Higher Power help me things usually work out.
• Ted N @ 12/25/2009 ( 10:56:56 PM )
  Once again a good topic for me tonight. I was thinking about this topic this morning when I was praying. The reason I thought about it was because I am away from home. And when I am away from home I often slip out of my routines, especially when I am at my mother’s house. Well I did not want that to happen so I set up my room here in such a way to remind me to pray when I got up. And it brought to mind this post. Because I know that I need to always keep at least 3 legs of my program going and praying is one of the strongest legs that I can have. And it has been good so far. I am so grateful for this program and what I have received as a result so I need to work it every day regardless of where I am. So remembering the 3 legged stool has really helped me to try to keep my program stable no matter where I am. Thank you.
• Phil @ 07/21/2010 ( 3:38:51 PM )
  It's interesting to think about the foundations of recovery, and how they are working for me. Meetings, actual and here, keeping contact with my sponsor and group members, and building the fire of spirituality inside myself.
  
  It feels to me that working on these things every day keep me safer from addictive thinking and relapse. They are reminders of the misery and pain that comes from acting out. It's like a path that you must walk on every day, to keep from falling into the quicksand of addiction.
  
  After 9 months of recovery and almost through the 7th step, I am grateful that I've made it this far. It's been a harrowing journey, but so much better than the way it was, and I think the really good stuff is yet to come.

Post a New Comment
Your Name:
Your Email:
Comment:

• Out Of Bondage: Memoirs Of A Sex Addict