What does living in the solution mean?

You’re joyfully doing your job. You tackle your responsibilities one by one. You check in with your supervisor to keep her apprised of your progress. You collaborate with colleagues, as needed, so your work reflects their contributions. Everything is going great.

Then you see your back in the mirror. Running lengthwise is an imprint of three deep, wide grooves. You immediately recognize them as belonging to a bus. You realize you’ve been thrown under the bus without your knowing it.

By definition, when you throw someone under the bus you cast them in an unfavorable light with others. You also take action or make statements intended to put them at a disadvantage. 

I also know all too well that you’re thrown under the bus when there’s a search for someone to blame. More specifically, here’s what I glean from instances when the technique has been used:

• The project manager did not want to accept responsibility for its slow progress;
• This same person feels a need to blame someone if for no other reason than to avoid criticism by management; 
• It's unacceptable to not explain why the state of affairs is less than ideal;
• You offer a logical alternative for why circumstances are less than ideal; and
• You are not present in the room when the subject comes up with management, so you cannot object. 

Voila. You find yourself thrown under the bus. 

To make my position clear: I accept responsibility when it’s appropriate. When it’s not, it’s not. I don’t feel a need to blame someone else no matter how uncomfortable that may be. I also stand up for those not present who may be candidates for being thrown under the bus.

In short, living in the solution means I don’t throw people under the bus. 

(I've written four blog posts, including this one, on what it means to live "in the solution." Read them here, here, here, and here). 

Living In The Solution

What does this mean? Very simply, for an alcoholic, this means to be living in steps 10, 11, and 12 each and everyday. To be accountable for his or her attitudes and behaviors, to remain in constant contact with God and to be working with other alcoholics intensively.

In my experience, I found that others were not doing this as much as I would have hoped they were when I reached this level of thinking and being, and from this experience of mine, and through my meditation practices, and a intensive desire to be working with others in this area of my life; I devised the Living In The Solution Meeting Format that would help people that have gone through the steps with another alcoholic experienced in the Big Book - to develop over time, the dicipline to perform a a daily personal inventory and prayer and meditation lifestyle.

Alcoholics Anonymous has given us a complete set of instructions, via the Big Book, to become recovered from alcoholism, and to live a life beyond our wildest dreams provided we experience a complete psychic change, a spiritual experience and continue to enlarge upon our spiritual lives through a continuing search for the truth.

This website, LivingintheSolution.org, was developed so that  Icould share with you the format of the Living in the Solution AA meeting, and if you felt the Spirit move you, you could yourself start an AA meeting in your home town to help the still suffering alcoholic become recovered from a hopeless state of mind and body through the teachings and experince of the 12 steps in their lives as well as your own.

Your feedback and contributions to the format are greatly appreciated. If you are running a Living In The Solution AA Meeting and would like your meeting to be listed on this website, you can email me at kurtk68 at gmail with your meeting time, day, location and a contact if you have one.

Listen To Solution Based Speakers at www.SpeakerMeetings.com

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“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them”.
– Albert Einstein

As addicts of any variety, we are more likely to get high or drunk and to ignore a problem before ever putting forth any effort toward finding a solution to the issue.  Unfortunately, the problem is still there when we sober up and find that we’re right back to square one. This kind of behavior sometimes continues even after addicts sober up. By attempting recovery without an attitude of “living in the solution” many people are trapped in a vicious cycle and never-ending loop of unresolved problems, issues and crisis. 

By learning how to live in the solution with Dr. Harry and his expert team of concierge addiction specialists, recovering addicts learn how to effectively cope with solution oriented life skills that will help them gain the confidence to take ownership and make healthier choices. Problems are a part of life in recovery, but we have choices, and how we react to problems strongly identifies the quality of our recovery. We can avoid or deny problems which some like to call “situations”, but this often makes them bigger; or we can be proactive and resolve them.

This is why concierge addiction treatment with Dr. Harry is the best place to start learning how to be living in the solution. Dr. Harry offers offer a comprehensive treatment program that includes the many ways of living in the solution.  This can mean everything from problem-solving skills, coping strategies, thinking critically, reaching out to sponsors and recovery networks, communication and organizing skills.

Recovery Means Living In The Solutions

Using the same thinking to solve a problem as the thinking you used to create the problem may not be the best idea. If the only tool we have is a hammer, we tend to see every problem as a nail. In other words, we cannot approach a solution with a mindset that created the problem in the first place. Hard thinking or over analyzing on our own is not suggested for living in the solution, because as addicts in recovery, we begin to notice that left to our own devices we may develop “stinking thinking”.

Sometimes we all need to step away from a problem or situation, and allow a pair of eyes that are distant from the situation to examine it and=d offer suggestion for a solution. Having Dr. Harry and a network of others in recovery means that you can reach out to people who’ve already done what you’re trying to do!

One of the most helpful tools to living in the solution is being open-minded. When addicts in recovery or treatment ask “how” something can be done, typically the solution is in being “Honest, Open and Willing”. This kind of critical thinking allows us to avoid making judgments on things we know little about and adopting more of a try and see attitude.

With Dr. Harry’s concierge addiction treatment you will learn that “feelings are not facts”. While active in our addictions, and sometimes in early recovery, we are so controlled by our emotions that we tend to rush into decisions that have dire consequences. Learning about critical thinking with Dr. Harry is not about ignoring emotions or intuition; the idea is to incorporate logic to enable better decision-making. When seeking to “Live In The Solution” consider all of the many options available to you, practice keeping an open mind, try conscious contact with a high power and maybe, just for today, be comfortable with the uncomfortable. Because this too, shall pass.

Concierge Addiction Treatment With Dr. Harry

Dr. Harry L. Haroutunian is affectionately called “Dr. Harry,” because he has helped individuals and families suffering from the disease of addiction for nearly 40 years via his role as doctor, author, lecturer, sponsor and friend.

Dr. Harry is the president and founding director of Harry Haroutunian, MD, which provides addiction treatment services designed to help populations not well served by the traditional treatment model with offices in Rancho Mirage and Beverly Hills, California. Concierge addiction treatment with Dr. Harry is discreet, focused, intense and confidential. Dr. Harry only works with a limited number of patients at any given time to ensure total attention to successful outcomes.

Even though “Problems” or “Situations” in life are inevitable, the fear and unpleasant feelings that accompany them are not. Contact Dr. Harry today to learn more about healthy and productive program of recovery.