Does This Help® Joseph Smith vs. John Smith
standin’ tall® with obedience and knowing the difference between Mr did and Mr didn’t
DOES THIS HELP® the difference between use, abuse, and dependency — and also the difference between acting with awareness versus acting without discipline.
A substance, behavior, or pleasure is not automatically destructive simply because it exists. People throughout history have used wine, herbs, food, celebration, music, rest, and even solitude in ways that either strengthened life or weakened it. The deeper question is often:
- Does this choice increase clarity or decrease it?
- Does it strengthen self-control or weaken it?
- Does it help a person love, work, serve, and think more clearly?
- Or does it slowly take authority over the body, mind, emotions, relationships, or spirit?
That’s where Conscious Discipline® becomes important.
Anger itself is not automatically evil. Even in scripture, righteous anger exists. The danger is when anger becomes:
- cruelty,
- bitterness,
- revenge,
- domination,
- or an excuse to stop growing.
The same principle can apply to many things:
- alcohol,
- cannabis,
- food,
- gambling,
- technology,
- pornography,
- nicotine,
- shopping,
- attention,
- even work itself.
A person can become dependent on almost anything when it stops being a tool and starts becoming the master.
Something else important: intention and accountability matter. Someone can:
- drink wine responsibly and peacefully,
- or destroy their family through alcoholism.
Someone can:
- use cannabis thoughtfully for pain, trauma processing, or medical relief,
- or use it to completely avoid responsibility, numb reality, or disconnect from life.
Someone can:
- drink coffee as a morning comfort,
- or consume stimulants constantly because they never learned rest, balance, or emotional regulation.
The conscious discipline side asks:
“Am I choosing this, or is this controlling me?”
And another important question:
“Who am I becoming through this repeated behavior?”
Because habits shape identity over time.
Let’s also touch on Leadership by EXAMPLE. People learn more from what they see consistently lived than from lectures alone. Children especially watch:
- emotional regulation,
- accountability,
- honesty,
- moderation,
- recovery after mistakes,
- and whether adults practice what they preach.
A person trying to become greater is usually not striving for perfection overnight. They’re striving for:
- awareness,
- honesty,
- self-control,
- responsibility,
- and the ability to correct themselves when they drift.
That is very different from pretending to be flawless.
In many recovery and discipline models — including approaches like Conscious Discipline® and faith-based recovery programs — the goal is not merely “stop the behavior.” The deeper goal is:
- healing the reason behind the dependency,
- learning regulation,
- restoring connection,
- and rebuilding agency.
Because when people are wounded, overwhelmed, lonely, traumatized, angry, or spiritually disconnected, they often reach for relief before they reach for wisdom.
Pleasure itself is not the enemy. Lack of balance, lack of awareness, and loss of self-governance are usually where harm begins.
And leadership often begins with being able to say:
“I know my weaknesses. I know my tendencies. I am learning how to choose what strengthens life instead of what slowly harms it.”
DOES THIS HELP® LEADERSHIP DESIGNED SERVICES