Monday, September 10, 2018
Today's Gift
Feelings of discouragement are to be expected as part of life. We will have our times of greater energy and hope and our times of feeling depleted and lost. As we mature we learn to see many peaks and valleys across the landscape.
Giving ourselves over to feelings of discouragement is self-indulgent and saps our strength. We cannot see into the future. The dailiness of our lives isn't always dramatic and doesn't usually offer great changes. But we are part of an unfolding process. Looking back over just a week or a month, we can recall troubled times that now seem insignificant. We see other' people and their progress, and we know they too grew just one day at a time and couldn't see what the future would bring them. So we continue - knowing that our process is hopeful - even though we cannot foresee the details of our future.
Obsession
Never could we recapture the great moments of the past.
There was an insistent yearning to enjoy life as we once did and a heartbreaking
obsession that some new miracle of control would enable us to do it.
There was always one more attempt—and one more failure.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 151
Thought to Ponder
Within our wonderful new world, we have found freedom from our fatal obsession.
AA-related 'Alconym'
H O P E = Hold On, Possibilities Exist
Excerpt of The Daily Motivator
Seeking approval
Because one believes in oneself, one doesn't try to convince. Because one is content with oneself, one doesn't need others' approval. Because one accepts oneself, the whole world accepts them. -Laozi
Most of us want to be liked. We want other people to think of us as nice, friendly, kind, and loving. Most of us want the approval of others.
Since childhood, some of us have been trying to get approval, trying to get people to like us and think highly of us. We may be afraid people will leave us if they disapprove of our actions. We may look for approval from people who have none to give. We may not know that we're lovable now and can learn to approve of ourselves.
In order to live happily, to live consistently with the way our Higher Power wants us to live, and to tap into a way of life that is in harmony with the universe, we need to let go of our extreme need for approval. These unmet needs for approval and love from our past give others control over us today. These needs can prevent us from acting in our best interest and being true to ourselves.
We can approve of ourselves. In the end, that's the only approval that counts.
Today, I will let go of my need for approval and my need to be liked. I will replace them with a need to like and approve of myself. I will enjoy the surprise I find when I do this. The people who count, including myself, will respect me when I am true to myself.
From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie ©
From: Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation - Thought for the Day http://www.hazeldenbettyford.org/recovery/thought-for-the-day
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Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Keep It Simple
Don't let life discourage you; everyone who got where they are had to begin where they were. --R. L. Evans
Don't let life discourage you; everyone who got where they are had to begin where they were. --R. L. Evans
Feelings of discouragement are to be expected as part of life. We will have our times of greater energy and hope and our times of feeling depleted and lost. As we mature we learn to see many peaks and valleys across the landscape.
Giving ourselves over to feelings of discouragement is self-indulgent and saps our strength. We cannot see into the future. The dailiness of our lives isn't always dramatic and doesn't usually offer great changes. But we are part of an unfolding process. Looking back over just a week or a month, we can recall troubled times that now seem insignificant. We see other' people and their progress, and we know they too grew just one day at a time and couldn't see what the future would bring them. So we continue - knowing that our process is hopeful - even though we cannot foresee the details of our future.
Action for the Day: I have the strength to live through the peaks and valleys and to stay faithful to my myself and my recovery.
From: Bluidkiti's Alcohol and Drug Addictions Recovery Help/Support Forums Daily Recovery Readings - http://www.bluidkiti.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=2
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One Day At A Time
Obsession
Never could we recapture the great moments of the past.
There was an insistent yearning to enjoy life as we once did and a heartbreaking
obsession that some new miracle of control would enable us to do it.
There was always one more attempt—and one more failure.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 151
Thought to Ponder
Within our wonderful new world, we have found freedom from our fatal obsession.
AA-related 'Alconym'
H O P E = Hold On, Possibilities Exist
From: AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net)
Excerpt of The Daily Motivator
Seeking approval
by Ralph Marston
So many people waste so much time and effort seeking approval.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting the approval of others. It is when we need approval at any cost, that it becomes a big problem. If you require the approval of others, you give them control over your life. And you sacrifice your own uniqueness in order to be the way someone else wants you to be.
Here’s an irony for you to consider. Think of the person in your life who commands the most respect and approval. Chances are, that person is heavily opinionated and clearly defined, and does not change his or her behavior so as to win the approval of others. In other words, the people who have the most approval are not the ones who seek it out.
You can never gain approval by seeking it. Rather, people will respect and approve of you because of your integrity and consistency. Follow your own path. The world needs the contributions of each individual. If we were all the same, life would have little meaning. The vibrancy of life comes from differing opinions and ways of doing things.
Don’t worry about what other people think. Be true to yourself and your own beliefs, and you’ll gain the respect, admiration and approval that you deserve.
So many people waste so much time and effort seeking approval.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting the approval of others. It is when we need approval at any cost, that it becomes a big problem. If you require the approval of others, you give them control over your life. And you sacrifice your own uniqueness in order to be the way someone else wants you to be.
Here’s an irony for you to consider. Think of the person in your life who commands the most respect and approval. Chances are, that person is heavily opinionated and clearly defined, and does not change his or her behavior so as to win the approval of others. In other words, the people who have the most approval are not the ones who seek it out.
You can never gain approval by seeking it. Rather, people will respect and approve of you because of your integrity and consistency. Follow your own path. The world needs the contributions of each individual. If we were all the same, life would have little meaning. The vibrancy of life comes from differing opinions and ways of doing things.
Don’t worry about what other people think. Be true to yourself and your own beliefs, and you’ll gain the respect, admiration and approval that you deserve.
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