My OA For Today quote is from Ralph Waldo Emerson and reads: “People only see what they are prepared to see.”

It reminds me of step 7 and the lessons on humility. You cannot truly deal with any challenges in your life until you can accept your problems, your struggles, and your role.

All too often we think we see the issue clearly, but we find the answer is beyond us. We aren’t getting ahead at work because our boss is a jerk. We are resentful of our spouse because they are selfish. We are panicked about money because we have too many bills and not enough cash.

We look in the mirror and don’t like what we see because our thighs are too big, our boobs are too small, our wrinkles are too deep, our nose is too wide.

And then comes the “deserving.” We deserve to buy that new purse even though we should save or pay a bill. We deserve to make ourselves feel better with ice cream because we’ve had a tough day.

In all of these areas, we think we are identifying the problem—career, marriage, money, weight—and we think we are also identifying the cause or roadblock to the solution.

But we aren’t. We are not prepared to see the truth.

And the truth is that your boss likely isn’t the reason you aren’t getting ahead at work. And your spouse’s selfishness isn’t the reason you are unhappy in your marriage. and your cash flow isn’t the reason you are panicked about money. And the reflection in the mirror isn’t about weight.

And don’t get me started on the causes or roadblocks.

With career, are you doing what you love or doing what is easy or “necessary”? Are you working hard or just putting in your time?

With your marriage, is there anything you are doing or not doing that is telling your partner that either they don’t matter to you, or worse yet, that YOU don’t matter to you. Are you giving them permission to BE selfish?

With money, have you taken an honest look at your monthly bills and debt to determine if you need to make any adjustments?

With your looks, do you struggle with your actual looks or with how you feel? All too often, we confuse the two. We are really not happy with US, and we project that onto our poor bodies.

And, more importantly, do you need to consider if your life, your job, your marriage, your physicality is unmanageable or if YOU are. Are you, potentially, powerless over food or some other substance?