Do you know a liar?

Good Morning! Like a good neighbor, the DailyFix is there with tips and tricks that provide great insurance for your recovery journey. 

Here’s what's in store for you today:

• 🪴 Daily Motivation: Thrive & Heal

• 🤥 Let's Learn: How to Deal with Liars

• 🧘🏽 Daily Meditation: You Can Do Hard Things

• 🙋 Share Your Story

• 😂 Meme of the Day

🪴 Daily Motivation: Thrive & Heal

Are you thriving? How can you recognize if you are healing?

🤥 Let's Learn: How to Deal with Liars

Nobody likes being lied to. You can try to be understanding, but dealing with a liar can be so frustrating. So what do you do when you have a friend that can’t seem to tell the truth no matter what?

It's important to remember you can only sweep your side of the street. So you can’t change their behavior, but you can alter how you respond to it. Here are some tools to practice the next time you’re in a conversation & somebody’s nose starts to grow.

Don’t blow your top. Steam may be coming out of your ears, but take a second to breathe deeply; remember the work you’re putting into your recovery, and be kind but firm.

Expect Denial ( See Shaggy’s music video, It Wasn’t Me). A liar isn’t likely to just give up & tell the truth when confronted. In fact, they may double down or become the victim & feel attacked due to the accusation.

Remember, this isn’t about you. As tough as it is to be repeatedly lied to, you can’t take it personally. It has nothing to do with your character & is absolutely a “them problem.”

Be supportive but don’t enable. Remind them there’s no need to try and impress you & that you value your friendship because of who they are, not the stories they tell. But it’s not your responsibility to feed their habit of lying or fuel their need for attention. If anything, it only perpetuates the cycle. If you question what they’re saying, it may encourage them to stop the lie or cut the story short. You can also be straightforward and say you don’t wish to continue the conversation if they’re going to continue being dishonest.

Tactfully suggest seeking help. Sometimes lying stems from untreated issues such as anxiety, low self-esteem, or even a personality disorder. You can express genuine concern for their well-being without judgment or shaming. Be prepared with some information about pathological lying & contact information for a medical professional.

Always remember to keep your recovery a priority, especially when dealing with someone that has a habit you may have struggled with in the past. Your mental health & well-being have to come first & if this person’s pathological lying starts to affect that, then some distance may be best. Praying to your Higher Power for clarity on what to do may prove beneficial as well.

🧘🏽 DAILY MEDITATION 🧘🏽

Remember, you can do hard things. After all, you’ve already taken the steps into recovery, which is NEVER an easy task. You are no longer numbing your feelings and dulling your senses, so everything may seem hard at first. But recovery allows you the opportunity to live meaningfully and with purpose. It will pave the way for you to learn valuable life skills that will, in turn, help you to develop and live a life you may have only dreamed of if you remain determined.

Determination is a powerful quality to have. It can be the motivation that keeps you going when faced with challenges that would have previously eaten you alive. Determination while doing hard things can show you how much strength you are developing. And critical parts of our recovery require strength, determination, & faith.

Faith in your Higher Power will help you when the road looks impassable. A simple prayer of thanks that includes, “God grant me strength,” is a great way to begin communication with the God of your understanding.

🙋 Share your Story 🙋

“Today, I’m thinking about the 2 years that I worked for the State Fair. We traveled to a new place every 10 days or so, which meant brand new bars that I wasn’t banned from. It also meant I could get a case of Budweiser at 10 AM without the worry of long-term judgment from the clerk. I mean, I’d have done that in my hometown, too, but that’s neither here nor there. The point is by the time the fair opened at 6 PM each night, I was well past lit and on my way to staggeringly drunk. Sometimes I would lean against the rail of the ride to keep from swaying. I PUT CHILDREN ON THESE RIDES THAT I WAS OPERATING! Looking back now, it's obvious I was much more suited to dress up as a clown; I was already a walking joke. All I needed was the giant shoes.”

-Levi

😂 MEME OF THE DAY 😂