Ten NFL Strategies To Help You Win At Recovery #03

Addictions & Recovery, Featured Articles | Cesar Gamez | January 14, 2010 at 6:24 pm

What my wife thinks matters to me. When I got home from work yesterday she confided in me that talking about football lost her interest in my blog series. “It’s not about football. It’s about addiction.” I replied in a rather defensive tone of voice. Let’s face it, not everybody likes football. So I am accepting the fact that probably some of my readers (including my wife) may not be too thrilled about reading my NFL strategies for addiction. On the other hand, I have appreciated the comments on my facebook, and twitter from some of my other readers that are enjoying this series.

I hope you hang in there through these posts because I’m not just talking to those who struggle with addictions but also to those of you who live, love and want to help an addict.

Strategy #3: Learn to Play Defense

Life happens. We lose our jobs. We see our close friends move away. We watch our parents divorce or struggle through the impact of an affair. Our college application gets denied. Relationships end. We get sick or diagnosed with a medical illness. Life happens.

While we cannot control what happens to us, we have a lot of power over what happens in us. It’s been my experience that when life’s storms come our way we tend to either tap into our resources (faith, family, values, etc) or we erect walls that protects us from further danger and hurt. Unfortunately for us, in the process of seeking an escape route, rather than inviting people in to help us, we end up pushing everybody out.

Over the years, I’ve come to realize that in each of us there is a potential for creativity or self-destruction. Playing defense against your addiction will necessitate your deliberate choice to tap into your potential for creativity.

Successful football teams develop strategies to guard their vulnerabilities and weak spots. They are aware of when the opposing team is likely to kick, make a long pass or simply run the ball. What would you discover if you asked yourself, “when, where and with whom am I most vulnerable to give in to my addiction?” The answer to that question is likely to equip you with the knowledge you need to develop a good defensive plan.

You’ll want to pay attention to your H.A.L.T. Because in a previous post I’ve written about H.A.L.T. vulnerabilities, I will not be expanding much on that concept here but I want to encourage you to develop the habit of checking-in with yourself multiple times a day.

What does a defense strategy look like for you?
For some, it may mean throwing away the scale or skinny jeans if you know these will cause you to obsess over your weight. For others it may mean declining invitations to parties and social gatherings that might make drinking alcohol a temptation. Still some may find that taking deep breaths before getting angry, getting enough sleep or socializing on a consistent basis may help reduce urges and triggers to give in to the addiction.

Spiritual Integration
What does the Bible say about this concept?

God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to him. Be on your guard and stay awake. Your enemy, the devil, is like a roaring lion, sneaking around to find someone to attack. But you must resist the devil and stay strong in your faith. You know that all over the world the Lord’s followers are suffering just as you are.
I Peter 5:7-9 CEV

These passages challenge Christians to trust God to do the impossible while committing to doing their part in resisting temptation and avoiding pitfalls. Many Christians pray that God takes away their addiction, heals their wounds miraculously and takes away the pain. While God may choose to do that, He often invites us into the process of healing. That process requires surrounding control while making strategic steps towards living the kind of life we want.

Tags: recovery

3 Comments

kristina says:

January 15, 2010 at 3:32 am

I find it amazing that you're able to relate football to recovery to bible passages. Very clever! I like it. These blogs are good for me to read right now, espcially the one about choosing teams. Being back in the real world makes the opposing team seem more appealing –makes me think its gonna be the winning team. Liked the point about the optimist/pessimist/recovery minded person from strategy #2.

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