Tip #6: Be Holistic | Pure Desire Ministries

Number six, be holistic. Nick, what does that mean?

Well, it's a great idea because it's kind of the counterbalance to what we just said in number five. Well, on the one hand, we don't want to be afraid to repeat a commitment and build on it. On the other hand, we want to be aware if our commitment is always the same thing and always in what I would call the same arena of life. You know, we live our life in the arenas of the physical, the mental, relational, emotional, and what we call spiritual. And even though all life is spiritual, generally we mean our commitment to God, to church, to our faith. And if we're making. Making our commitment in the same one every week, like, I think the most common is a man or woman who's saying, well, this week I'm going to read my Bible more. And it's been the same every week for like eight weeks. And now it's not just that they're not afraid to repeat. It's they're kind of stuck in the same area. And we need to find out either why are they not growing in that area, or have they just limited themselves and they need to think about what could I be working on physically, what do I work on relationally, what do I work on mentally? So really kind of track yourself. And if you realize week in and week out, my commitments are always the same thing or in that same general arena, like, one week it's the Bible. One week it's prayer. One week it's my church commitment. Your life is more than just that one aspect, and your healing is more than just that one aspect. And the more that we include all the parts of our life and we grow holistically, that's where our change, I think, really sticks and lasts. Because now it's not just that one area, but it's everything working together.

That's one of the things I think I learned really, really quickly in group, especially now, being a couple times in, I've realized that it's not just the tools that I in place that help me to maintain sobriety. It's also like, am I getting enough sleep? Am I eating right? Am I exercising regularly? Am I engaging with my wife on an emotional level, on a spiritual? Like, there's just so many different things that cater to or really enhance our holistic health. And I think that when you're just focused on one specific area with your commitment to change, you tend to pigeonhole yourself. And maybe you get really, really healthy in that one area, but then the rest of them are lacking and so if you're able to really broaden the scope into what you want to work on in all these different areas, you're going to find it that you're going to have more holistic health.

Yeah. And I think by having a variety in your commitment to change, it keeps you from getting stuck in any false belief or any modes of trying harder. Whereas if you're always wanting to read your Bible or always wanting to eat better, then it could be that you're starting to believe if I just ate better and looked better and my body was better, that would fix things. Or if I just became more spiritual and then my problems would go away. It really could be an indicator that you're trying harder in one area instead of checking your motivation. Where if I know I'm allergic to certain foods and I eat them and they make me feel bad and then I'm irritable, that's a good motivation. But if I am saying I want my diet to be healthy because in my mind I'm thinking if I was skinnier and prettier than my husband would like me more or I'd attract more people, then you got to really recognize what that motivation is behind your commitment.

Yeah. Our problems and addictions are complex and multilayered. And so our healing and the solution needs to also be multilayered so that we can really address all the places of our brokenness.