In this edition of The Way Out, we have a tremendously insightful and beneficial interview with therapist and accomplished Author of numerous books, including The Proactive 12-Steps: A Mindful Program for Lasting Change, Serge Prengel. At the center of the work in Serge’s new book is two fundamental truths; the first is that in Recovery, indeed fundamentally as humans we will encounter counterproductive thought and behavior patterns that will interfere with our ability to experience moments of peace and happiness and a life that is marked with joy and serenity to the exact extent and proportion to the severity of our existing maladaptive coping mechanisms. The second, and perhaps more important, is that the 12-Steps can truly be a design for living when we apply them to our lives in a proactive fashion resulting in concrete and enduring behavior change, a formula that we can use to address any counterproductive thought or behavior pattern that is causing the universally human experience of suffering and getting in the way of our ability to enjoy life. In short, we have the opportunity as people in Recovery to stop getting in our own way and mindfully and actively choose to pause and if so inclined, invite in our Higher Power and then respond or not respond to events and circumstances in our lives in an increasingly healthy way that is consistent with the people, we ultimately aim to be instead of reacting with our default programming. Serge’s message is one I wholeheartedly agree with, which is if we chose to embark on this journey of the Proactive 12-Steps it is both a process and a practice, and we shouldn’t expect to instantly eliminate all our undesirable thought and behavior patterns and replace them with ideal responses overnight. This work is what enduring and rewarding Recovery is all about, indeed this work generates the personal growth that results in what is often referred to as emotional sobriety, and the discussion that’s about to unfold before your very ears will illustrate precisely how we achieve this seemingly illusive and enlightened state of consciousness, so listen up. Contact Serge Prengel: https://proactivechange.com/and/contact/index.htm Recovery literature (Quit-Lit) Recommendation: The Proactive 12-Steps: A Mindful Program for Lasting Change by Serge Prengel: https://proactive12steps.com/ Best piece of advice: Find one or a group of peers in recovery or likeminded friend to work through The Proactive 12-Steps Song that reminds serge of Recovery – No specific song, but a classical symphony (c) 2015 - 2022 The Way Out Podcast | All Rights Reserved Theme Music: “all clear” (https://ketsa.uk/browse-music/) by Ketsa (https://ketsa.uk) licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/

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