If you are physically
dependent on the incentive, or if your require the support of a treatment program, you
should make contact with a professional in your community for further guidance. The
approach suggested here is a self-guided path to independence, and is not for
everyone.
Guiding your own course is more effortful than following an established
path. Although, freeing yourself from dependence has some obvious advantages
over depending upon an external source of control to free you.
The Challenge
As your biography unfolds in real time you will encounter situations - some of which
may be extreme in one way or another - where everything will look different than it does
now. At times you will be at high risk of behaving differently than you now intend.
The challenge is to do something now - while you have access to your rational mind -
that will enable you to perform successfully during these future high risk situations.
This is not a trivial task, and it requires more preparation than most people
expect. You will not be able to devise a successful coping tactic when you are in a
relapse crisis, so it is important to select one in advance. Please visit the
Coping Tactics Cheat Sheet for a list of some good ones.
Do not underestimate this challenge! It is not enough to end the debate and
finally decide [although the decision is essential}, nor is it enough to develop a plan
[although thinking it through is important]. You must be able to perform competently
during the crisis. Like the ability to perform well on stage -
following your plan during a crisis requires the development of skill to such a level that
it can be performed without conscious guidance. In the critical situation, the
cognitive resources required to intentionally guide behavior will be occupied, so the
intended action must be effortless.
The OPEN Path
Dependence on external incentives diminishes the quality of life.
Most addicted individuals want out, but escape is tricky. Good starts often end in
relapse, because the predictable pitfalls and traps are so well disguised. This web site
has an ambitious goal: to provide a generic map of the passage to
self-determination. Like a road map, many of these pages are best consulted just
before and during the moments of decision - especially in situations where you have a
history of blowing it.
Be Prepared! Bookmark the relevant pages, and
print hard copies where appropriate, so you can easily access what you need when you need
it.
The Path of Greatest
Advantage
If you are motivated to take action, and would benefit
from a more in depth presentation, we have developed a field guide on
CD containing information for your rational processing system in hypertext
format [like this web site], as well as hypnotherapy exercises to enlist the
aid of your unconscious resources. Chemical dependency,
Nicotine addiction, and loss of control over eating each have their specific
issues, and a separate guide is available for each. For those who
choose the OPEN path the relevant CD is highly recommended, and is available
at the PARTS Store for $39.99
plus $5.00 for shipping and fondling.
|
|
The descent to Hell is
easy; the gates stand open night and day; but to reclaim the slope, and escape to the
upper air, this is labor.
- Virgil
The heavier the burden, the closer our lives come to the earth, the
more real and truthful they become. Conversely, the absolute absence of a burden
causes man to be lighter than air, to soar into the heights, take leave of the earth and
his earthly being, and become only half real, his movements free as they are
insignificant. What then shall we choose? Weight or lightness?
- M. Kundera, [The Unbearable Lightness of Being
If not now, when?
- the RAMBAM
If one remains as careful at the end as
at the beginning,
there would be no failure.
- Lao Tsu |
