Change

I like to stop the beginning of year and look back over my life and see how far I’ve come. Have there been any significant changes? My twenty year anniversary in sobriety was January 21st. As I looked back, it got me to thinking about how people that use drugs and alcohol, when they first get sober, have a distinct, negative outlook. This is not unexpected, especially when you think of what most alcoholics and addicts have been through. It can’t be helped. Think about it. We have been in the crap for so long that bad things have become normal. I would not have gotten sober if things hadn’t gotten so bad, right? So, that gives me a negative outlook. Now I have to change this kind of thinking because it is what got me here in the first place. If I don’t, I will drink again. It's no wonder so many people have such a tough time staying sober. If our thinking does not change then we will continue to do the same things over and over; that’s what we call insanity. Thank God he helps us stay sober long enough to get past some of that thinking.

For too long in sobriety I hung on to a lot of those old mindsets, those old thinking patterns. The good news is that I can change the way I think. How? Well, to start with, how about prayer? Ask God to help you recognize negative thinking patterns. We cannot change the things that we are not aware of. Ask God to help you change your focus to something positive. I use a gratitude list for this. This works well regardless of whether or not we're alcoholic. Too many people have negative outlooks. You can change your thinking if you want to. It is one of the only things that you really have any control over.

Pressing on with excellence!!

Keith