Affirmation

“This is my day and I am not going to let anyone or anything take away this day of expression, love and celebration-not another person, experience or thought – I will have a beautiful wonderful day”

Often times I have wondered why some addicts who have struggled for so long have been able to establish long term sobriety while others have not. I have been working 12 step recovery long enough to be surprised by those who can create consistent sober living and those who have not. What I believe is that there are certain habitual skillsets that must be mastered in order for the recovery foundation constructed to produce long term consistency.

These skillsets are practices that demand daily training. I have discovered that at time this training can become a grind. Yet, it is invaluable toward building long term positive results. One of those skillsets is the practice of affirmations. It is my belief that long term sobriety requires a commitment to practice regular affirmations. It becomes like routine bathing or brushing your teeth. Some days just flow while other days are horrific.

What provides stability is the practice of affirmations. There are times I wake up feeling “shaky tender”. I need to steady myself, so I go to my affirmations. On difficult days, I read them out loud. At times, I will place pillows on the floor- stand on them and repeat the affirmations out loud. When that is not enough, I will ask my partner to stand in front of me as I go from pillow to pillow verbally repeating the affirmations. When that doesn’t work I call support people and repeat the affirmation over the phone, asking them to simply agree with me.

Some days and even weeks are a battle. Yet, I have discovered that long term sobriety requires that I forge a belief system that counters the negative chatterbox that relentlessly spews lies about who I am and what I cannot do. Slowly, over time I have begun to change the way I see myself and empower the possibility of ongoing long term sobriety, I do this simply by the practice of affirmations. No one can rob me of the way I choose to think which empowers the positive choices I make toward long term sobriety.