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Addiction is in All of Us

The last 11 years I have dedicated my life to building mission driven businesses’ that solve social problems. The past has led me to the field of addiction and a company called Journey Healing Centers emerged.

In 11 years of running private drug and alcohol healing centers, we discovered a number of tools to overcome addiction. Keep this in mind, addiction stretches far beyond just drug and alcohol addiction. Addiction is in all of us. Anytime pressure is put upon us, our addictions pop up.

I’ll give you an example. A friend and I were talking about addiction. Jason was very curious about addiction and how it can control the mind and body. He shared that he thinks he is addicted to sugar. Now, his wife is not leaving him because of sugar and was not fired from a job because of a sugar addiction, but he knows that whenever stress comes up in his life, he is looking for a cookie, candy bar, etc to calm the nerves and wanting that pleasure sensation sugar gives him.

‘Josh, I eat candy even when I know its bad for my body. I want to lose weight and just cant stop”.

“This is an addiction. When pressure is put upon you, your looking for a way out and sugar does it for you.” I said.

“Ok, so what can I do about it?” Jason asked.

“Find something bigger then the addiction, in this case the sugar.” I replied.

Over the course of the conversation we found his why. He shared with me that at his daughter’s school, the kids were asked to bring in a photo of their Dad and tell the class what he did for a living. His daughter brought in a photo of Jason on the top of a mountain. Jason loves to hike and climb mountains.

“My Daddy is an Adventurer!!” she declared as she proudly held up the photo to the class. His daughter was glowing. Jason’s emotions were obvious how much this touched him as he told me the story.

The teacher did her best to redirect her to the profession. But Jason’s daughter would not budge. “My Daddy is an Adventurer!” she said with conviction to the teacher. Nothing was going to change her mind.

Jason told me “She could have said I make doors and windows for a living, but she did not. Heck, I am the president of my company but to my daughter I am an adventurer” as a tear ran down his cheek.

That was it! We found his why. We connected that anytime he wants to reach for sugar, candy, cake, whatever… remember, “My Dad is an Adventurer.” Hear your little girls voice saying it. See her joy on her face. Feel it and know that you are!

We did this over and over till the WHY was anchored. It was becoming a new belief system and coping tool. Over the next few weeks, he experienced a “detox” from the sugar as his body was releasing it from the cells. After the detox period, overcoming the temptations were becoming easier but he still had to use his new tools. Jason has been able to successfully use the technique countless times to overcome his addiction to sugar.

Next time pressure is upon you, tap into a higher why. Overcome the temptation of the little voice in your head. Beat the addiction and replace it with a driver that serves you….. not you serving it.