Focusing on the posotive!

[Tazman53]

I remember when I was drinking and in early sobriety, I looked for the negative or bad in everything and I was negative, angry, and argumentative about almost everything.

There were so many things in the program and in the world that I would seek and find the bad in lookinig beyond and through all of the good that was staring me right in the face!

I spoke to my sponsor and others about all of these bad things and the main thing I was told was "Martin, look for the good & the posotive in all things, it is there if you look for it" Well slowly I would find myself looking for the good & the posotive in all things............ there it was, right in front of me, the more I looked for the good, the more I realized that the good far outweighed the bad in most cases.

The neat effect of this was I have become far more posotive in life, I am for the most part happy and what is there to argue about when things are good.

The cleaner my side of the street is the more good I can see in everything around me, the bad pales in comparison to the good today.

One prime example of this was when I was drinking AA was for losers, old men who could not handle thier liquor anymore crying about what a lousy lot they had been dealt in life.

Today I am able to drink in the joy of AA and see the miracles that AA produces for those who simply stop looking for the bad and instead loof for the good.

[FightingIrish]

Great post, Taz. After working the steps and trying to practice them in my life to the best of my ability, I find I still have a negative, "magnifying mind".

BUT, the steps help me to be relieved from the bondage of self. Most of the time now, that negative character in my head is now just a supporting cast member...comic relief. I don't think he'll be written off the show altogether, but that's OK. When those thoughts pop into my head today, very often I am able to notice them and set them aside.

I am also making an effort today to confront situations that are beyond the scope of just my resentments...i.e., that spill over from the fourth column into that which I can change or which needs to be dealt with. This is a new area for me. I'm not used to confronting people or situations that make me uncomfortable. It's a clumsy beginning for sure, but even this humble beginning sure saves me a lot of misery.

Thanks again.

M

[nelco]

Trying to think and focus on the positive is a huge part of my recovery...I was always waiting for the axe to fall instead of focusing on the good stuff in my life. It really does good. thanks for that post taz

[Ago]

Thank You Taz

I am reminded of what a friend of mine says:

I started putting one healthy thing in my mind every day, after awhile it became a habit, and after a few years I noticed I was healthy.

Easy Does It

Don't expect too much too fast, that just sets us up for failure, just one "good" thought every day, and after awhile it becomes "the norm"

Rather then struggling with "my negativity" I just try to put something good in my brain, along the same lines as a gratitude list, same as, the more I focus on the problem, the more the problem increases, the more I focus on the solution, the more the solution increases.