How to Build or Re-Calibrate Your Moral Compass

Estimated watch time: 3 mins 44 secs

Summary:

Once we’ve honed in on what our morals and values are, they become something no one can take from us. They’re also something we can use to stay consistent when we weather challenges.

This video explores how you can develop a moral compass through honesty with yourself, and diving deep into what your core values are.

Video Materials:

Transcript:

u003ch3u003eMoral Compassu003c/h3u003ernu003cemu003eToday’s lesson is going to discuss moral compass, ethics and altruism.u003c/emu003ernrnBasically, what we’re looking at is doing what’s right and how that can affect our resilience. Consider the typical story. Someone finds a wallet with a couple hundred dollars in it. They have some options. They can take the wallet and attempt to find the owner. They can say, hey, thanks and keep the money or they can just leave it right where it is. That decision is going to be based on your moral compass, your ethics and altruism.rnrnNow when we’re considering morals or our moral compass. One of the key points is personal control. That’s our ability to differentiate what’s within our control from what’s beyond our control and then to be OK with that.rnrnCan you think of an experience where you looked at something and you realized that you didn’t have control over the situation or of the result? How did you deal with that?rnrnSo this is one of those difficult things that individuals can struggle with because it’s tough. It’s tough to create these unrealistic expectations and standards that sometimes we can’t meet ourselves and other people can’t meet our expectations.rnrnBut the long and short of it is this, morality and having a good moral compass that requires courage is not easy. Courage is like endurance, it’s endurance of fear. It’s a measure of a person’s ability to handle fear. So without fear, there can be no courage. Without courage, all virtues are very fragile. Think about these things as we move through the rest of the lesson.rnrnNow, altruism. That’s when we’re taking our ideas and we’re taking ourself and we’re giving in and focusing on others. Maybe that’s in the form of a peer support group that you’re working with. Or maybe that’s the idea of giving back to your community.rnrnRandom acts of kindness. This actually gives back to us as much as we’re giving away. It’s based on reason and emotion both. It’s just not “I’m going to do this to get”, there’s emotion involved there.rnrnLet’s think about some ways that we can build our moral compass or train to make it stronger. Sometimes we have to remember that there’s no right choice. A bad situation can be bad. Now we can look at it from different perspectives and find purpose and meaning in it. But when it comes to our moral compass, there might just not be a right choice. How are we going to train our moral compass? First, we’re going to look at ourselves openly. Most importantly, honestly. If you can’t be honest with yourself, there’s no way you can be honest with others.rnrnConsider some questions. What are your core values and beliefs? Which are important to you? Are you living those values? Are you falling short? If so, where are you falling short? And are you motivated to change? Do you have the courage to change? Then take all these answers to these questions and then find people that you look up to. Engage with other ethical individuals, people that you share the same value system with.rnrnLastly, remain vigilant because there’s nothing that will pull apart your moral compass and break down your resilience than when you can’t remain vigilant. And then people are able to use that against you. So practice your moral values and try to uphold them even in the most challenging of situations.rnrnThank you for choosing The Recovery Village. If you or a loved one are struggling with mental health or substance abuse and would like to find out more about the programs we offer, please reach out to us directly at u003ca href=u0022tel:855-387-3291u0022u003e855-387-3291u003c/au003e.

Other Addiction & Mental Health Resources

The Recovery Village has several, free resources for those living with addiction or mental health conditions and their loved ones. From videos, to clinically-hosted webinars and recovery meetings, to helpful, medically-reviewed articles, there is something for everyone. If you need more direct help, please reach out to one of our representatives.

Accompanying Worksheets:

There are lessons accompanying each video that you can access through our recovery portal, Swell or you can download, here. (Lesson 3)

Medically-reviewed articles:

Professional webinars:

Transcript:

Relapse Workshop: Warning Signs of a Relapse

In this lesson, we’re talking about the warning signs of a relapse:

Stopping or cutting back your attendance in therapy or counseling
Thinking about ways you might be able to drink or use without anyone knowing about it
Fantasizing about how good it would feel to drink or use or thinking very little about the potential negative consequences
Stopping or cutting back your attendance in self-help groups such as AA or Smart Recovery
Engaging obsessively in a replacement addiction such as eating, gambling, shopping, video games or pornography
Isolating yourself from others
Placing yourself in risky situations
Spending time in places where you used to buy or use drugs or alcohol
Avoiding talking about mixed feelings or doubts you have about staying sober
Starting to use a drug other than your substance of choice
Feeling intense, negative emotions such as depression, anxiety, anger or irritability
Feeling that you don’t fit in with others who are in recovery
Regularly spending time with people who are using
Blaming other people for your problems
Having very few activities that are fun or enjoyable
Not sleeping well or not sleeping enough
Neglecting responsibilities such as paying bills, doing household tasks, taking care of loved ones, or getting to work or school
Avoiding talking about feelings of unhappiness
Feeling hopeless about your ability to rebuild your life.
Keeping alcohol, drugs or paraphernalia at home
Hanging onto the phone numbers of dealers or people used to use with
Lying
Rejecting help from others
Feeling bored or having lots of unstructured or unplanned time
Isolating yourself or withdrawing from recovery supports
Acting defensive when others around you express concern about your well-being or recovery

Are there others you can think of? I’d like you to point out and name your top three warning signs.

So do you believe you’re an addict or alcoholic? That belief is an important part of staying sober. If you don’t think you are, it’s going to be difficult to stay sober. Do you want to stop using? What are you not doing that you need to be doing in order to stay sober? And what are you doing that you need to stop doing in order to stay sober and identify who or what can help you?

In the next lesson, we’re going to talk about what you can do to reduce your relapse risk.

Thank you for choosing The Recovery Village. If you or a loved one are struggling with mental health or substance abuse and would like to find out more about the programs we offer, please reach out to us directly at 855-387-3291.

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Building Your Moral Compass