Writing Prompt: The Butterfly Effect (Small Step, Big Gain)

 Prompt: Write about the butterfly effect in your sobriety.

Small Step, Big Gain

Initially, this is a kinda difficult prompt for me to write. Let’s see. Think about a small change you made that had a significant impact on some other, future aspect of your life. I guess I’m kinda reminded about what I discussed last week: doing the simple thing of getting a pill tray and suddenly I’m almost 100% compliant with my bipolar medication and I’ve stayed sane and out of the hospital. 

I can think of bigger changes I’ve made that have been very beneficial to my overall wellbeing. For example, in September I located a warm water pool in Grandview where I now go on Tuesdays and Thursdays for exercise class. I can’t tell you how much better I feel afterwards! My doctors have been telling me for years to get active but I’ve been resisting. Now, some of this is because my medication makes me very fatigued, but there’s also been some stubbornness on my part to get moving. Finally, I got myself signed up for the water class and I’m so glad I did!

Also, this week I signed up for a fitness class at our local rec center that meets Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I’m looking forward to getting out of the house in the morning, away from my chair where I’m known to sit and worry about catastrophic future events. I’m really hoping that this uptick in my physical activity will translate into a significant reduction in my anxiety. 

Lastly, I’m thinking about how I’ve let go, for the most part, trying to control my husband and his decisions. What’s happened is he has really surprised me with some of the things he has done: getting our older car serviced so we now have two dependable cars, instead of one; he organized a small family outing to the Franklin Park Conservatory to see their holiday light display and paid for everyone’s tickets; he went to the dentist to get his teeth cleaned without my nagging; and he purchased quarter season tickets to the Columbus Blue Jackets games, with some of our seats in the really nice Club section which he knows I like.

I’m amazed at my husband’s actions when I leave him alone, when I let go of the nagging and just let him be. He’s one of the good guys, he’s generous and attentive and I’m blessed to have him as a partner. Good things happen when you let go trying to control someone. Took me a long time to figure this out. But better late than never. That much is true.