Good Times, Bad Times (You Know I've Had My Share)

Good Times, Bad Times (You Know I’ve Had My Share) – Video Intro: https://youtu.be/mbwvfyXpWbY Bad things happen. It’s an unfortunate reality in this world and we have all had our share of bad experiences. At times bad things happen for no good reason at all. Wrong place, wrong time. You can be doing the right thing and the wrong things can happen. With that depressing thought out of the way, one positive takeaway from negative experiences is that in all life situations, good or bad, there are life lessons that can be learned and used again for the future. We can make progress in our lives in spite of negative circumstances and situations by insightfully drawing out these life lessons and using these lessons in our own process of healing and recovery. As we heal, we can grow even stronger similar to the way a broken bone fuses back together even stronger than it was before it was broken. Also, let’s not forget that in life unexpected good things happen sometimes too, and lessons can be learned from these experiences as well. This group should not be just about the bad things. Instead mix and match by sharing about anything where a life lesson was learned in both good times and in bad. Directions: Take turns picking a life area topic from the list, then share a personal story about a situation related to that life area. When done with your story, try to identify one Life Lesson learned from the experience; especially something that has been useful in your life since the event. Feel free to discuss and process stories further as a group especially if anyone else in the group has had a similar experience and come to a similar conclusion. It may be a good idea for someone in the group (or the counselor) to record a list of the life lessons shared for further group discussion at the end of the exercise (optional) Example: Topic selected from the list: Good Time: Recovery Milestone Story (Example) – “Just last month I reached 90 days sober which I have done many times before, but this time is different because I learned the Life Lesson to finally change people, places, and things. I am doing so much better since I started listening to some of the suggestions my counselors and peers have made instead of being stubborn” TOPICS: Good Times Winning Achievement Proud Family Moment Got the job (or promotion) Rags to Riches (Financial gain) Once in a Lifetime Opportunity Recovery Milestone Figured it Out (Solved a life problem) Successful completion (Finished a challenge) Right Place, Right Time The Right Decision Paid Off I Made the Moment Count I Followed the Right Advice Hard Work Paid Off I Walked the Walk I Saw the Trouble and Avoided It The Right Attitude Paid Off I Did Not Give Up Bad Times (Challenges) Unexpected News Loss (Person) Loss (Material, Financial) Loss (Opportunity) Family Problem Break Up (Relationship) Relapse Mistake Legal Trouble Wrong Place, Wrong Time Bad Decision, Bad Outcome Close Call but I Missed Out I Should Have Listened… I Didn’t Apply Myself When I Should Have I Talked but Didn’t Take Action I Got Sucked into a Bad Situation (I should’ve seen) Burned by my own Bad Attitude I Wish I Didn’t Give Up Come up with your own “Good Time” and Lesson... Come up with your own “Bad Time” and Lesson…. www.takingtheescalator.com Process Questions – When the group is done with the exercise, discuss the following: Why is it important to try to learn something from every situation? How have you specifically changed your current behaviors based on some of these lessons that you have learned in the past? How have you learned to prepare for the future based on your past experiences? Have you learned to improve your attitude and outlook based on (or in spite of) your past experiences? If so, how? What specifically are you doing to cope and heal from some of the negative experiences you have had? How can you increase your chances for more good things to happen for you in your future? What life lessons that were discussed today stood out to you as something you want to work on more? Finally, put a plan into words: What is at least one or two things you are going to do differently to enhance your life and your recovery going forward today? > > www.takingtheescalator.com