Looking the Other Way

Some people have asked me lately how to keep temptation away or how to change habits.  In Addiction Recovery there is a lot of talk about triggers, patterns, and things of that nature.  I’ve found it is better for me when I keep it simple.  I look the other way.  It comes in three degrees or categories: physical, mental, and spiritual.

Physically looking the other way is the easiest to start practicing but hardest to keep doing correctly.  Addicts have excellent radar for seeing things that will tempt them and bring them enjoyment. We’ve been doing it for years and know when something comes up whether or not to turn our head or keep an eye out.  What I propose is when that pops on your radar is you purposefully and physically turn your head the other way.  It feels a little weird at first but it works.  Keep doing it and slowly it becomes a habit.

Mentally is much harder because our minds can move so quickly and so covertly that it’s hard to keep a handle on them.  Just like in the physical example, if you feel your mind turning to something that will trigger it or start the steps in a pattern of addiction then you force your mind to look the other way.  It helps to already have something to look to like a favorite scripture or poem or song.  Plan ahead with what you will turn to mentally and have it ready for when, not if, you’ll need to look the other way at it.

Spiritually is perhaps hardest of all; however, I found that if you are working hard on the first two degrees or categories then it becomes easier to spiritually turn away.  It is tied in closely to the mental category.  Where our minds go so do our spirits, but we need to actively want our spirits to follow.  I would also equate this with a change of heart or becoming a different person.  To spiritually look the other way, I need to have chosen something good or righteous to focus on in place of unrighteous thoughts.  Mentally we can count prime numbers or remember quotes from Shakespeare to distract our thoughts.  Spiritually we need something uplifting to the soul to move us to a better spiritual plane.

Lastly, as is always true, it is important to surrender whatever it was we were looking away from and make sure it isn’t crammed down into our self-conscious to be used later. Surrender it to God and let Him take it from you so it is gone before it can do any harm.

It takes time, practice, and patience. Like anything worthwhile, it isn’t easy and expect to make mistakes and slip up. I still sometimes don’t look the other way as much as I should, but I just recognize it and recommit to trying even harder the next time. It sounds simplistic but by simple things are great things accomplished.