IT’S ABOUT TIME
It’s [all] about time
It’s about time
…
It’s about time!!!
Happy New Year!
Already, Super Bowl 2014 is history; and I am just now starting the
January GRM Blog. It’s about time! Seriously, as the month of January flew by –
and my theme song for the month continued to be Where Has the Time Gone? - I
began to formulate the Blog message
to start this new year.
In truth, the element of time has much to do with New Year’s Resolutions – and their
success. Working in modifications or
complete change within our established life patterns involves time. Both doing and undoing certain aspects of our
individual behaviors mandate deliberate time spent to affect desired results. I heard a recent sermon wherein the preacher
said that most resolutions made at the beginning of the new year are given up
by the end of February. What happened? My guess is that time was not devoted to making the hoped-for results take hold and develop.
So let’s talk about the element of time. There are many expressions incorporating this
concept. Time is money. It’s all about
timing. The world’s time vs God’s Time.
Be
on time! Time will tell. We could fill more lines with similar
sayings but the picture is clear: time
spent and timing can make a
difference in people’s lives!
Not long ago, a friend shared with me that she is going
to be deliberate about working into her schedule daily therapeutic
exercises. She added that the closing statement
said at the end of support group meetings “It works if you work it” is not one
of her favorite sayings. However, she continued, It’s really true, anyway.
It was then I reminded her that what was next said
was most important: “and you’re worth it!” In other
words, change (i.e., spending time
working toward change) is the way
to achieve the desired results AND a person’s
claim to be “worth it” is the basic
motivation for this change to take place.
Therefore, to emphasize the essential role that time plays in recovery efforts, I have
revised a number of the Gamblers Anonymous 20 Questions in terms of one’s
devoting time to the work of recovery.
Hopefully, this Check List will provide a practical and
helpful reminder to use time as an essential tool in recovery.
TAKING-TIME-FOR-RECOVERY CHECKLIST
1. Calculate:
how much more time would you have at work for
work (at school for schoolwork)
if you did not engage in gambling activities (in the workplace or at school)?
2. Set
aside at least one-half hour of time at
home doing something enjoyable instead
of gambling; increase this ”new
time” by additional ½ hour increments on a weekly or monthly basis.
3. Take
time to arrange payment plans for
debts with creditors.
4. Spend
a set amount of time weekly to budget
and pay household bills and other financial obligations.
5. Invest time in Gamblers Anonymous: attend weekly (or more) Meetings; attend a GA
Budget Relief Session with a significant family member or friend; participate in GA conferences and
celebrations (“Pinnings”)
6. When
you are plagued with worries and troubles, take deliberate time to talk with a
counselor, pastor, and/or trusted recovery friend (or sponsor) instead of
letting the worries consume hours of your day/night. If you feel that you “need” to worry, set
aside a certain, limited daily amount of time (a set number of minutes); focus on the worries only; when time
is up, restrict your worrying to the next day’s prescribed amount of minutes to
worry (i.e., your “Worry Time”).
7. When
an urge to gamble attacks, set a timer for five minutes. At the end of the 5 minutes, remind yourself
that you did not gamble for that amount of time – even though the urge was
there. Then set another segment of
minutes’ timing to stave off a further urge.
Keep doing this until the urge fades and is no longer immediately
threatening. The urge will fade!
8. Calculate
the amount of time you spend (1) daily thinking about gambling, (2) arguing
with family members, (3) creating ways to hide gambling activities, and/or (4) creating
ways to obtain extra gambling money.
9. Calculate
how many hours of sleep that you lose worrying about finances.
10. Consider
the expression: time is money; as you
have been in recovery, calculate how much further ahead you are, financially
speaking, now that you have spent less time involved in gambling
activities/thoughts/actions to hide gambling, etc.
Recovery? It’s
about time!!
Blessings,
Rev. Janet JacobsFounding Director
Gambling Recovery Ministries
For more information on the
Gamblers Anonymous Twenty Questions, go to www.gamblersanonymous.org
For detailed information on problem
gambling recovery issues, visit www.grmumc.org
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