the three bears
admin July 18th, 2009
July 18, 2009
Coaching those in early recovery takes patience. Patience on the part of the client and patience on the part of the coach. I relate this to the children’s story “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”. If the coaching goes too quickly, it may be too much, too soon. If the coaching moves too slowly, it may create no energy and go nowhere. But the art is finding the right temperature and moving together at the right pace whatever that may be. This may take some trial and error but ultimately allows the client to find their true rhythm at this point in their recovery.
Traditionally addicts tend to seek immediate gratification and want everything yesterday — so it may be helpful to take a moment to explain to them your respect for where they are in their recovery and the reason that you’re helping them find their pace even if it does feel a bit slow at times. Creating stretch goals but also looking at ways to stay grounded and realistic is also part of the new balance they will experience as they experiment with how it feels to accomplish their goals in sobriety.
Early recovery is a time of discovery. A time of experiencing oneself as capable and competent possibly for the first time in a very long time — if ever.
