Daily Motivation 3-22-11

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Today's Gift

Letting Go of Being a Victim

It's okay to have a good day. Really.

It's okay to be doing okay and to feel like our life is manageable and on track.

Many of us have learned, as part of our survival behaviors, that the way to get the attention and approval we want is to be victims. If life is awful, too difficult, unmanageable, too hard, unfair, then others will accept, like, and approve of us, we think.

We may have learned this from living and associating with people who also learned to survive by being a victim.

We are not victims. We do not need to be victimized. We do not need to be helpless and out of control to get the attention and love we desire. In fact, the kind of love we are seeking cannot be obtained that way.

We can get the love we really want and need by only owning our power. We learn that we can stand on our own two feet, even though it sometimes feels good to lean a little. We learn that the people we are leaning on are not holding us up. They are standing next to us.

We all have bad days -- days when things are not going the way we'd like, days when we have feelings of sadness and fear. But we can deal with our bad days and darker feelings in ways that reflect self-responsibility rather than victimization.

It's okay to have a good day too. We might not have as much to talk about, but we'll have more to enjoy.

Higher Power, help me let go of my need to be a victim. Help me let go of my belief that to be loved and get attention I need to be a victim. Surround me with people who love me when I own my power. Help me start having good days and enjoying them.

From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie ©

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Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Keep It Simple

Skill to do comes of doing.---Ralph Waldo Emerson
Often, we just want to sit and do nothing. And why not. We go to meetings, work the Twelve Steps, read, make new friends. All this takes energy and means taking risk. Haven't we earned the right to just sit and take it a break from it all? No! In the past, we avoided life. Now we're becoming people of action. We take risk. We're becoming people who get involved in life. We practice caring about people and caring about ourselves. At times, we may complain, but we do what is needed to stay sober. We gain skills by doing. why? We do it to save our lives. How? By trusting. We now trust that our Higher Power and friends will be there for us. They will help us push past our fears. As we practice daily how to stay sober, our skills grow.

 

Prayer for the Day:  Higher Power, Yours is a spirit of action. Allow me to become skilled at being active.

Action for the Day:  Today, I'll work at being active and alive. Maybe I'll start a new friendship or try a new meeting.

 

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One Day At A Time

 

Mirror Image
My life was full of contradictions. . . I would create with one hand
and come along to destroy with the other.
I just could not stop snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
I looked together, but up close, I was glued and taped together. . .
I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Horrified, I screamed out
sobbing to God, "Save me from myself. What is my problem?"
The room became very bright and I heard a powerful voice reverberate
in a loud whisper, "Alcoholism."
- The AA Grapevine, March 2011, pp. 40-41

 

Thought to Ponder . . .
The stillness of God speaks louder than a choir of voices.

 

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H E L P = His Ever-Loving Presence.

 

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Daily Motivation

 

Seek responsibility

 

What are you willing to take responsibility for today? Where you're willing to take responsibility, you're able to make real progress.

Even if the problems are not your fault, if they affect you then your best strategy is to step up and take responsibility for them. Even if there's something you don't know how to do, if it's important to you then take responsibility for figuring out how to get it done.

 

Sure, your life is influenced by many things that are out of your control. Even so, your life is best lived when you take full responsibility for it.

 

Responsibility is a real and serious commitment that will often require great effort on your part. The payoff is with that responsibility comes a steadily increasing and positive influence over the way your life proceeds.

 

And even though it represents a serious commitment, responsibility also brings an unmatched sense of freedom. When you let go of the blaming and the begging, you are wonderfully free to live life on your own terms.

 

Look for ways to be more responsible and you'll find great opportunities for success. Seek always to live responsibly, no matter what, and bring real value to all you do.

 

-- Ralph Marston