Dallas Bragg argues that when you relapse, curiosity beats self-condemnation. Instead of judging yourself, become a detached observer of your feelings and thoughts, like a student in a lab. This mindset, rooted in meditation and mindfulness, helps you understand what happened without getting swept away by shame.
I examine with curiosity. So what does that mean? To examine life with curiosity. If you listen to me, you know that I say that successful recovery is about curiosity, not condemnation. Condemnation is placing judgment, condemning yourself for the things you do. Of course, first thing I'm gonna think of here is relapse. Responding to relapse with condemnation is not going to get you anywhere. In fact, it's going to be the very thing that puts you behind in your recovery. Not the relapse itself. That's not the problem. Your response to it. When you respond with curiosity, you're asking questions. You are an investigator, a compassionate observer. You're a student in a lab, and as a student, you are able to observe that you're feeling the feelings, you're feeling the sensations, and you're observing what's happening to you. But you're not carried away by it. Observing allows you to zoom out so that you're not attached. You're not being carried away with the feelings. You are watching what happens to you from a third-person point of view. The third person is your true self, that gold, that gold, right? Not trying to stop what's going on. You're studying it. And this is where our meditation and our mindfulness comes into play. And it's very helpful in recovery and in life in general.
