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An Empowering Investment
Recently, some of our clients here at Ocean Recovery tried their hands at a ropes course. Seeing them overcome their fears and watch their faces light up with empowerment was wonderful. Additionally, it was a great team-building exercise. If you’ve been fortunate enough to attend a business meeting or two over the last few years (or watched episodes of The Office), you know that the phrase “team building” is quite the buzzword in corporate culture. Forbes even called it “the most important investment you’ll make.”
Now, it’s pretty obvious what team building means, but why has it become so important? Below are some benefits of team building, not just for the company or the project you’re working on, but for you, the individual in recovery.
Isolation and Fear
This one’s listed first not only because it’s the most obvious but also the most important. As I’ve mentioned in a previous blog, isolation sits right alongside fear as one of the most lethal recovery killers. Just by participating in a team-building exercise, isolation ends, and facing your fears begins. That’s two threats killed with one stone. Furthermore, team building can reintroduce a newly sober individual to social dynamics on a much smaller and more manageable scale. Re-learning and mastering those dynamics is one of the most important lessons in recovery, but it’s also a skill that will touch almost every aspect of your life.
The Nuts and Bolts of It
Our problems become smaller as we step out of the shadow of isolation and work with others. We’re not going to accomplish this project alone – after all, that’s why we have a team – so we divide the tasks and get to work. We learn to play to our strengths. Just as importantly, we learn to trust and rely on others for help in areas that aren’t our strong suits. This realization will carry us a long way on our road to recovery.
A Spiritual Endeavor
This one may seem a little esoteric or far-fetched initially, but it’s one of my favorites, so I need to go into it at least a little bit. To me, few feelings are more satisfying than the sense you get when you are part of a group of people and everyone is on the same page and moving towards a common goal. At that moment, you become part of something greater than yourself. In that sense, being part of a team, whether it’s sports, a band, or a project at work, is a spiritual endeavor.
You Are Not Alone
What it comes down to, at least from the perspective of recovery, is that engaging in team-building exercises brings the realization that you don’t have to go through everything alone and carry every problem of the world on your shoulders. Instead, you learn to rely on and trust in the sisters and brothers on your team to reach your goals and handle any problems. Working hard at your part, trusting and helping others, becoming a part of something greater…it’s almost as if team-building exercises are a microcosm of recovery. So, if you are still sitting in the isolation and fear of active drug addiction, please reach out to Ocean Recovery in Los Angeles today. We would love the opportunity to be a part of your team.
Sources
Ocean Recovery has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations for our references. We avoid using tertiary references as our sources. You can learn more about how we source our references by reading our editorial policy.
1. Scudamore B. Why Team Building Is The Most Important Investment You’ll Make. Forbes. Published March 9, 2016. Accessed August 2, 2022. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianscudamore/2016/03/09/why-team-building-is-the-most-important-investment-youll-make/
