#426 How the Twelve Steps Offer a Surprising Path of Transformation with Ian Morgan Cron

Happy New Year! I’m SO excited to be back with you all and to kick off the year by welcoming back an incredible returning guest, Ian Morgan Cron. If you haven’t had a chance to catch his previous episode, you might recognize him as the author of The Road Back to You, or as the host of the popular Typology podcast.  

Ian is a psychotherapist, an Enneagram teacher, an Episcopal priest and the author of several other books. His new book releases at the end of this month, called, The Fix: How the Twelve Steps Offer a Surprising Path of Transformation for the Well-Adjusted, the Down-and-Out, and Everyone in Between.

I’m thrilled to have him back on the show to share his heart behind this book and how everyone, no matter where they are in life, can benefit from the twelve steps. This conversation is rich, deep, and packed with insights you won’t want to miss! 

2:38 – Ian 201 

·      Continuing Enneagram, coaching and podcast work

·      Songwriting for Netflix

·      Ian’s new book, The Fix

 7:54 – The Genesis of The FIx 

·      Why Ian wanted to write this book

·      Understanding the twelve steps

·      Finding the balance between powerlessness and healing 

14:28 – Looking at Modern Addictions 

·      Craving control

·      The need to play God

·      Denial as an addiction

23:07 – Hugging The Cactus 

·      Why everyone needs to “hug the cactus”

·      Accepting “unacceptable” parts of yourself

·      The connection between self-awareness and spiritual growth

·      The power of the twelve steps for all walks of life

39:56 – Seeking Progress, Not Perfection

·      The difference between reformation and transformation

·      How this process has impacted Ian’s life

·      The role of community in the transformation process

·      Closing thoughts + pre-ordering your copy of The Fix

FEATURED QUOTES

“The 12 steps are not just for alcoholics, drug addicts, over-eaters, gamblers, spenders, shoppers or whatever…Everybody's on the addiction continuum somewhere, and everybody can experience the same liberation, joy, freedom and happiness that people that self-identify as addicts or alcoholics do.”  

“The one thing that stands between you and you becoming the person you want to become is the truth.”

“The parts of you that you have rejected all your life- all the quote-on-quote ‘crappy, sinny stuff ‘going on in there- is actually still at work. And until you welcome it home and accept the unacceptable about yourself, you will never accept that you've been accepted by God. And that's really important work.”

“There's a lot of people of faith out there who have just tried to hate themselves into becoming better people. You can't do that. You can't shame yourself, beat yourself up. You have to welcome these parts of yourself home and tell them that all of you is welcome.”

Learn more about Ian:

https://ianmorgancron.com/

The Typology Podcast

https://www.typologypodcast.com/

Pre-order Your Copy of The Fix

https://ianmorgancron.com/thefix

Ian’s Other Books

https://ianmorgancron.com/books

Ian on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/IanMorganCron/

Ian on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/ianmorgancron

Ian on LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianmorgancron/