Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Today's Gift
What do you mean I have to wait for someone's approval? I'm someone. I approve. So I give myself permission to move forward with my full support! ― Richelle E. Goodrich
Self-approval
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.
"You've been criticising yourself for years and it hasn't worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” ― Louise Hay
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.
It isn't for the moment you are struck that you need courage, but for the long uphill climb back to sanity and faith and security. --Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Most of us are on a long uphill climb at this moment. It is a climb we are making
together, and yet a climb we can't do for each other. I can reach out my hand to you,
and you can grasp my hand in return. But my steps are my own, just as you, too, can
only take one-step at a time.
For brief periods we skip, even run, along the uphill path. The rocks and the occasional
boulder momentarily trip us up. We need patience and trust that the summit is still
achievable. We can help one another have patience. We can remind one another to trust.
We look back at the periods that devastated us so long ago. And now we are here.
We have climbed this far. We are stronger, saner, and more secure. Each step makes
easier the next step--each step puts us on more solid ground.
Action for the Day: I may run into some rocks or even a boulder today. I have stepped around them in the past. I will do so again.
Ghosts of Yesterday
If we have swept the searchlight of Step Four back and forth over
our careers, and it has revealed in stark relief those experiences
we'd rather not remember, if we have come to know how wrong
thinking and action have hurt us and others, then the need to quit
living by ourselves with those tormenting ghosts of yesterday gets
more urgent than ever. We have to talk to somebody about them.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Five) p. 55
Thought to Ponder
If I have the courage to begin, I have the courage to succeed.
AA-related 'Alconym'
N U T S = Not Using The Steps
Seeking approval
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
Walk In Dry Places
Most of us are on a long uphill climb at this moment. It is a climb we are making
together, and yet a climb we can't do for each other. I can reach out my hand to you,
and you can grasp my hand in return. But my steps are my own, just as you, too, can
only take one-step at a time.
For brief periods we skip, even run, along the uphill path. The rocks and the occasional
boulder momentarily trip us up. We need patience and trust that the summit is still
achievable. We can help one another have patience. We can remind one another to trust.
We look back at the periods that devastated us so long ago. And now we are here.
We have climbed this far. We are stronger, saner, and more secure. Each step makes
easier the next step--each step puts us on more solid ground.
Action for the Day: I may run into some rocks or even a boulder today. I have stepped around them in the past. I will do so again.
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
If we have swept the searchlight of Step Four back and forth over
our careers, and it has revealed in stark relief those experiences
we'd rather not remember, if we have come to know how wrong
thinking and action have hurt us and others, then the need to quit
living by ourselves with those tormenting ghosts of yesterday gets
more urgent than ever. We have to talk to somebody about them.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Five) p. 55
Thought to Ponder
If I have the courage to begin, I have the courage to succeed.
AA-related 'Alconym'
N U T S = Not Using The Steps
From: AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) http://www.aa-alive.net/index.html
***************************
Daily Motivation
Excerpt of The Daily Motivator
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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