3.2: The OPEN Path

It is not enough to finally decide to change [although the decision is essential], nor is it enough to develop a plan [although thinking it through is important]. You must be able to execute effectively during the crisis!

Like the ability to perform well on stage ─ following your plan during a crisis requires the development of skill to such a level that it can be performed without conscious guidance. Remember, during the crisis the cognitive resources required to intentionally guide behavior will be occupied, so the intended action must be well rehearsed.

For a variety of reasons the rigid Impeccable Path may be a poor match for you. The more flexible OPEN Path is based on the scientific method. The focus of this approach is to learn the truth about cause and effect for your particular reality.

As your biography unfolds you may encounter situations where choices which now seem preposterous will seem like a good idea. During such times you will be at risk of behaving differently than you now intend. The challenge is to do something now ─ while you have access to good cognitive resources – that will help you to perform as you now intend. The Soul Illusion causes most people to underestimate this challenge; because they believe that during high-risk situations they will be motivated to avoid lapsing, just as they are now. Part of breaking free of dependence is learning to cope with this illusion.

To follow the OPEN Path you would develop an Implementation Intention such as – “When I encounter high-risk situation X, I will execute tactic Y.” Then like a scientist you observe what happens. If you get the expected outcome you are on the right track. However, if things did not work out as you expected, nature is telling you that cause and effect play out differently than you thought, and you must modify your plan to account for this new knowledge. Again, you will ask nature about this new tactic, and be nurtured by the feedback, and so forth. Over time you will develop a more sophisticated understanding of cause and effect in your universe, and a progressively more realistic and effective set of coping tactics.

The OPEN Path refers to: Outcome – Plan – Execute ─ Nurture:
o Chose an Outcome you want.
o Develop a Plan to achieve it.
o Execute the plan
o Nurture the plan through observation

Example of H’s plan: “At the wedding reception, whenever I think of drinking alcohol, I will take a sip of club soda. When I run out of club soda I will go the bathroom and review my reminder card.” At the reception H executes the plan. Later, he reviews his observations, asking himself: “What can I learn from this experience?” “What helped, what did not?”
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The truth will set you free!
The objective of the OPEN Path is to improve your understanding of cause and effect through observation so you can continually improve your methods. If your predictions were good enough for you to create a plan that worked well: congratulate yourself and note what you did that was effective. Success has a lot of information value: There are many ways to fail, but few ways to succeed.

Alternatively, if things did not go as predicted, nature has taught you something you did not know before. The task now is to use this new information to improve your understanding of cause and effect, and modify your plan accordingly. You might make some adjustments, or abandon the tactic completely in favor of a different approach. As you continue to accept natural feedback and use it to improve your coping abilities, you will become progressively more effective.
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Self-Forgiveness
The follower of the OPEN Path seeks truth as revealed by observation. Personal experiments are conducted primarily to ask a question of nature and receive an answer. These experiments are risky. Unexpected results are common; if we knew what would work we would not have to do the experiment.

Performing these experiments requires courage. Unfortunately, many people with addictive disorders are relentless promoters of self-hate. The inevitable setbacks and hard times are taken as proof of their intrinsic worthlessness, or the hopelessness of their situation.

To utilize the powerful tools of the scientific method you must be:
Open to the truth as revealed by direct observation

Capable of utilizing the disciplines of inductive and deductive reasoning

Free from attachment to any particular story of the truth.

Willing to rehearse your coping tactics so that you can perform them with little conscious guidance.

Flexible enough to Try something different when a tactic you are trying out produces bad results.
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So far we have described two mutually exclusive paths to self-determination:

 The Impeccable Path requires no decisions, because there are no options ─ no exceptions are permitted.

 The OPEN Path requires you to be forgiving of errors and be flexible enough to modify your plan on the basis of new information.

Neither of these paths seems sufficient, and yet each has their advantages. If only there was a middle way…