Before I discovered transformational therapy, I thought I had a clear sense of who I was. The truth is, I was only showing the world a version of me that wore different masks. Those masks fit the roles I played: partner, father, mentor, teacher. They didn’t always reflect the real me underneath.

Acceptance doesn’t mean agreeing with everything or allowing people to cross your boundaries. It means releasing the need for judgment or control and choosing peace over resistance. It’s letting go of the weight you were never meant to carry. Self-worth is the fuel for both acceptance and the way we handle judgment. When we value ourselves, we trust our own path and stop needing to control someone else’s. Without that foundation, disagreement can make us closed-minded, and that’s when control issues tend to rise up, pushing us to try and “fix” people instead of allowing them to create their own experience, just as we create ours.

Here’s the truth about recovery, and about life. You can want it and dream about it all you want, but without real effort, nothing changes. Knowledge alone isn’t enough. It takes wisdom in action. Commitment is that action.

To truly transform and be free, we must forgive, especially ourselves. This is vital for anyone dealing with substance use or mental health struggles. When we hold on to anger or hurt, we create resentment. And resentment is poison. It eats away at us psychologically and physically.

When you set boundaries, you are not pushing others away. You are making room for what truly matters, you. This is not a selfish act, it is building a connection, respect, and genuine love. Without your best version, you can lose yourself in the craziness of everyone else’s needs, and the people you care about most never get the best of you.

Change is inevitable. It’s constant, often uncomfortable, and almost always inconvenient. But change is also the birthplace of growth, healing, and freedom. When we embrace it…rather than resist it.  We give ourselves permission to step out of survival mode and into something more intentional: thriving.

But what often holds us back from change?

The ego.