Keep It Simple

-
We have all heard the expression, "Keep It Simple".  Some of us learn this the hard way.  Anyone who is an active addict or in recovery has triggers that can cause a relapse.  One of my triggers is anxiety.  If I allow myself to become anxious for an extended period of time, I am liable to relapse.

To avoid becoming a victim of my anxiety trigger, I try to keep things a simple as possible.  My morning routine is structured in such a way that I take time to read, meditate and pray.  I have found that these simple steps in the morning, build a healthy foundation for the rest of my day.  As long as I don't allow myself to become filled with anxiety, things go smoothly and I am more productive.  

We have all heard about "People, Places and Things...".  By avoiding unhealthy people and "old haunts", I eliminate a huge amount of unnecessary anxiety.  Sometimes, we can't avoid situations.  When we are faced with a situation that is unhealthy, it is important to use rational thinking.  I must use the information that was provided to me in my twelve step program.  

Without my higher power and the tools from my twelve step program, I don't have a chance.  It is important to keep things as simple as possible.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Attitude Of Gratitude

-
Image
A THANKFUL HEART I try to hold fast to the truth that a full and thankful heart cannot entertain great conceits. When brimming with gratitude, one's heartbeat must surely result in outgoing love, the finest emotion that we can ever know. — AS BILL SEES IT, p. 37 I thank God everyday for leading me to AA.  I start my day with my Daily Reflection reading to put myself in the correct frame of mind.  I need an attitude adjustment the minute I wake up along with lots of coffee.  I am thankful for the life he has given me and blessings he has gifted me.   If I start to doubt God's plan for me and become ungrateful, my self seeking ways slowly creep back into my life.  I will lose sight of the plan he has for me.  I will become so wrapped up into my own world that I become of no use to others who need help.   I have to remember where God has put me and where I came from when I started my journey in recovery.  I cannot take those blessings f...
Read more

Self Pity

-
Image
"Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have—life itself.” ~Walter Anderson Self pity can be dangerous if you allow it to control your actions and emotions. Bad things do happen and we have no control over it. We can control how we react. If you allow yourself to drown in self pity, it will keep you from moving forward.  I spent most of my drinking days steeped in self pity. Why me? Why do I have to deal this? Those were the questions I asked myself in between sips of beer. It was so easy to stay in the self pity mode. I carried my bitterness and self-destruction everywhere I went. I let it affect not only me but the people around me. If I didn't find the courage to face my pain head on, I was going to sink deeper into depression. And that is exactly wh...
Read more

I Am Home

-
Image
I'M PART OF THE WHOLE At once, I became a part—if only a tiny part—of a cosmos. . . . — AS BILL SEES IT, p. 225 I can remember countless meetings where I thought, "I'm not one of these people, I don't need a  program".  I didn't want to mingle with anybody, I just wanted to sit through the meeting and make up some ridiculous excuse why I couldn't stay and help clean up.  Since I didn't have a car, I would usually have my ride lined up to come early and wait outside the meeting. That way I could always leave quickly and give the old "goodbye shout"  to everyone.  I felt I didn't need to hang around, after all, the meeting was over right?   It wasn't until I began doing service work that I started to understand that I was one of them.  I was now part of an 'us'.  I remember my sponsor asked me to run the registration table at a Soberfest function we were having.  I couldn't understand why she would want me to d...
Read more