When life seems to be going the way we planned for it to, it’s easier to smile, to laugh and to be grateful for what we have. When things go awry, however – that’s another story. We find it easier to curse at the wind – to get mad at all of the people, places and things that have brought us down and to focus on outside circumstances and hold them accountable for how we feel inside. Earlier this year, A Conscious Rethink, a website that publishes information related to mind, body, spirit, relationships and more, described 5 main reasons why we tend to blame things on others when life goes “wrong”:
- We’re trying to explain why something happened because we feel a need to know a “cause” for a particular situation.
- To attack another person, because we may want to hurt them the same way we felt hurt.
- An attempt to defend ourselves – so that we don’t have to focus on ourselves.
- It all feels easier when we can blame someone or something else – because then we don’t have to confront the personal responsibility we’ve had on the situation.
- We want to feel hurt, broken, angry, etc., and blaming others provides us with the permission we need to act in this way.
A common topic in the 12-Step program is learning to rely on a Higher Power in times of despair. Rather than placing particular blame on someone, we can turn to a Higher Power to explore what we could’ve done differently, or what we could change for the future. By trusting that as humans, we don’t have all the answers, we open our mind – and heart – to exploring more options for better living.
If you’re ready to dive into better mental, physical and spiritual health from active addiction, speak with a professional from Cumberland Heights today.
Cumberland Heights is a nonprofit alcohol and drug addiction treatment center located on the banks of the Cumberland River in Nashville, Tennessee. On a sprawling 177-acre campus, we are made up of two 12-Step immersion campuses, 12 outpatient recovery centers and 4 sober living homes. We believe that each person has a unique story to tell – and that’s why we always put the patient first. For more information, call 1-800-646-9998 today.
