Monday, March 31, 2014

The Power of a Word

It is amazing how much power can result from changing one word. I have done this with the word HAVE, changing it to GET. That one change has transformed my life because it has completely changed my attitude about things. It is amazing the different way I have been able to look at most things that I go through in my life because of it. I no longer see things as obstacles but instead as opportunities. Here is how it is applied.
I used to hate going to recovery meetings. I would be fine once I got there, but the motivation to get there in the first place was missing. I would look at the clock and think to myself, “I have to go to a meeting tonight.” It was very low on my totem pole of things to do, even though I realized how important they were to my sobriety.
As I began to get more involved with the meetings, I opened myself up to doing more at them. I would chair meetings, volunteer to do readings and set up/break down chairs and tables for the meetings. I became necessary to the meetings and began to see them not as things I HAD to do, but things I GOT to do.  Soon I would see it was almost time for the meeting, and would say to myself, “I get to go to a meeting.”
Thinking of the meeting as something I got to do instead of something I had to do changed the way I looked at it. I began to appreciate the meetings I attended. I could have been in county jail or prison due to my use, but I had some freedom. I could have been in the hospital or the graveyard due to an overdose or drug deal gone bad and yet I was healthy enough to be outside. I got to be at a meeting. Being there was way better than some of the alternatives I could think of, so why not focus on the positive aspects?  
I now use that shift in vocabulary with everything I do. I don’t have to go to work; I get to go to work. I don’t have to go to trainings; I get to go to trainings. I don’t have to wake up in the morning; I get to wake up in the morning. I know the direction my life was headed in my addiction. My life’s trajectory has done a complete 180 thanks to Christ and recovery. How can I not appreciate what I get to do?
If you are always miserable, then you are working your program wrong! Will you have days that are disappointing? Of course you will. It is your choice whether you let the disappointments or the successes define you and the rest of your days. I chose to put the majority of my focus on my successes. I introduce myself not as an addict, but as one in recovery because of that. I am defined by my success, not by my shortcomings!
So the next time you are having a pity party for yourself, remember that there are much worse things that could be happening in your life. The next time you are at a meeting filled with people holding Negative Nancy and Debbie Downer attitudes, shout the praises of your recovery. Remind everyone that recovery is filled with joy and hope. There is a better life in recovery! After all, that is the message newcomers needs to hear, and a lot of people in our lives need to be reminded of.

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