Self Control Requires Self-Awareness (Episode 4 - Archive)

Self Control Requires Self-Awareness (Episode 4 - Archive)

What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol? This conversation on Relational Recovery leans into a core skill for anyone changing unwanted behaviours: self-awareness as the foundation for self-control. Host Wes Thompson shares honestly about his own struggle with impatience and how it can quickly turn into anger and frustration.

Rather than pretending it isn’t there, he talks about very practical ways he slows himself down: writing out the story in his head, going for a walk, doing yoga, or using a short meditation to calm his body. As he puts it, he can “feel it in my body” when he’s likely to react badly, so he focuses on calming his body first to clear his mind.

Co-host Austin Hill adds an important twist: these practices are mostly done before conflict, not in the middle of a heated argument on a job site where you can’t just say, "I need to go on a walk." The aim is to have enough clarity and self-awareness that, when tension hits, you can focus on the one thing you can genuinely control: your response.

The episode talks through the "fire in your gut" after a hard interaction and how people often choose one of two unhelpful paths—exploding and saying too much, or shutting down and saying nothing. Both hosts reflect on their own tendencies and point towards a healthier middle ground: saying what’s true, but with kindness, and without dragging in every frustration from the past.

For anyone in recovery who wrestles with impulsive reactions, bottled-up resentment, or constant conflict, this chat offers relatable stories and simple, doable practices to build self-awareness and self-control side by side. What small step could you take today to slow down and respond more thoughtfully?