![\"finger\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/243\/2016\/09\/finger-300x225.jpg\")
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Many of us have heard the phrase, \u201cWhen you point your finger at someone else, remember you have three fingers pointed back at you.\u201d\u00a0 It took me a long time to truly get an understanding for this phrase.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t until going into recovery for codependence that I finally realized what it meant.\u00a0 Now, it is a sort of tool that I use to help guide myself in my own recovery.<\/p>\n
One of my biggest problems was judging and criticizing others.\u00a0 I would blame them for things that I had a hand in, and I would comment on how something they were doing was irritating me.\u00a0 When I began recovery, I started looking at myself rather than others.\u00a0 In doing my fourth step,\u00a0 my eyes were truly opened to my behaviors and actions.\u00a0 Suddenly, I realized I was all of the things I saw in others that bothered me about them.\u00a0 That\u2019s why they bothered me so much!<\/p>\n
Now, even though I am working on not judging and not criticizing, it\u2019s still an ingrained reaction, and I find myself doing it sometimes.\u00a0 Instead of ignoring it and not caring that I am acting this way, I take a moment to use it as a tool.\u00a0 I ask myself what it is that bothers me so much, and then I bring it inward and try to see if I can\u2019t find times where I have acted similarly.\u00a0 This tool has really helped bring me out of denial and avoidance!<\/p>\n
It\u2019s much harder to look at ourselves than it is to look at someone else and point out what we dislike.\u00a0 There is so much pain stored inside, that the idea of really looking at ourselves is daunting, if only for the reason that we are convinced that we won\u2019t like what we see.\u00a0 The beauty of looking inward is that we truly begin to recover.\u00a0 We cannot participate in our own recovery if we are busy focusing on someone else.\u00a0 So today, I would like you to try to remember the phrase, \u201cSpot it, you got it!\u201d\u00a0 If you find yourself annoyed with a person, try and use it to guide you into seeing a little bit more about yourself.\u00a0 Don\u2019t be afraid!<\/p>\n
Sherry Gaba, LCSW, Radio Host, Certified Transformation Coach and author of\u00a0 the award winning book, The Law of Sobriety:Attracting Positive Energy for a Powerful Recovery and Ecourse www.wakeuprecovery.com. www.sherrygaba.com sherry@sgabatherapy.com.\u00a0 Find out if you are #codependent. Take my quiz.\u00a0 http:\/\/sherrygaba.com\/co-dependency-quiz\/<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Many of us have heard the phrase, \u201cWhen you point your finger at someone else, remember you have three fingers pointed back at you.\u201d\u00a0 It took me a long time to truly get an understanding for this phrase.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t until going into recovery for codependence that I finally realized what it meant.\u00a0 Now,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":402,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n