Practice Perspective

I work as in-house counsel for a large organization and have been sober for many years. Many of the lessons I have learned in sobriety carry right over into my workplace. One that I especially like is “Stick with the Winners.” Early in sobriety, I could tell that some of the members in Alcoholics Anonymous had really turned their life around and were heading in a positive direction. I was drawn to the people I respected who appeared to be making good life choices. When it was time to pick a long-term sponsor, I selected an attorney who was older than me and had more sobriety. My sponsor is a winner in every sense of the word and is a credit to the Alcoholics Anonymous program and the North Carolina State Bar.

In my workplace, I make a conscious effort to associate with hard workers who are going places with their careers. They are trustworthy individuals who can keep a confidence and are largely focused on bringing positivity and enthusiasm to their work. We all have folks we work with who are difficult or make us potentially boil over with resentments. Rather than engaging with these problematic people in our lives, especially when it is out of our control to make personnel changes, I minimize our interactions and make every effort to keep things light and civil. Then I spend my real effort on the winners. My meaningful engagement usually occurs during one-on-one lunches, and I am grateful to have learned to prioritize my time and effort on people who make me feel good.