deeker

I can't stop negative thoughts from coming into my head but the key is not to verbalize those negative thoughts.

Oh I verbalized negative thoughts when I was actively drinking . I had very little tolerance for anything .

I had no hope .

But if I can't say anything good today I need to keep my mouth shut .

Also when I verbalize those thoughts I speak negativity into my own life and I begin to believe what I am saying .

For me I only add to the problem .

I can talk myself into a drink .

I can talk myself out of recovery or going to meetings because I tell myself I don't need meetings, or I don't fit in .

I can talk myself out of getting a job, by saying negative things like I am not qualified or why would anyone want to hire me .

I can talk myself out of achieving great things by speaking negativity into my life .

I can talk myself out of singing in public even though I love it and I am not bad and then I am defeated before I even try, saying things like I don't sing as good as Whitney Houston so why try?

Negative words can keep me from becoming the person God created me to be .

It prevents me from living and taking risks and enjoying my life .

It can keep me paralyzed . I just put my life on hold .

If I continually speak negative words into my life I will become exactly what I am saying .

I will believe the lies . It's like I am putting a jinx on my own life .

What I need to do is switch my thinking over to faith .

Think about the things that I have accomplished, think about the people who do love me .

Think about the trials I have lived through and come out of .

Think positive thoughts that I do deserve to be happy and have a fufilling life .

Sometimes people hear the statitistics in AA and because they are not that high may disqualify themselves before they even begin .

But in How It Works it says Rarely Have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path .

Today I will not verbalize those negative thoughts because they are not from God and I know God wants the very best for me and you too!!

freshstart57

We have ability in this regard that is difficult to convey to someone who has not yet experienced it. We each have the ability to identify, challenge and replace negative self-talk and beliefs with thoughts that actually promote goal achievement and emotional well-being. Plato said, 'A grateful mind is a great mind which eventually attracts to itself great things'.

In a given situation, we have expectations and demands we perceive, such as 'I must do this' or 'If I fail at this it will be A CATASTROPHE' that lead to bad evaluations like 'I can never do this' or 'What's the point in even trying'. These thoughts can become self-fulfilling, and you have realized that can be a BIG problem.

We can learn to take this thought sequence apart by understanding that we process events through a belief or expectation before we form our reaction or emotion. We can't change the event because it has already happened, but we can change our belief or expectation, and thereby change how we feel about it.

This is a skill, and like many skills, improves with repetition and practice. Finding the place from which we can start is a stumbling block, and it takes some work. A good starting point is the belief that we can achieve our goals and that we are far from helpless. We are not helpless and we can change our future.

This is a good introduction to understanding how this stuff works. It is not some ****** mantra claptrap, but a technique that is based on evidence collected from decades of scientific research.

You are not helpless or powerless, and you deserve your own measure of happiness, joy and beauty in your life, Deeker. Demand it and accept no less.

Oh, and I sing because I love to do it and and nobody can force me to stop.

Best to you.

2granddaughters

And if you find you can't do it yourself, then you will be an alcoholic of the type described in AA's "How It Works" and "The Doctors Opinion" and you will find your solution in Alcoholics Anonymous.

The trick is to not kill yourself trying to do what won't work for you.

All the best.

Bob R

Boleo

"There is a direct linkage among self-examination, meditation, and prayer. Taken separately, these practices can bring much relief and benefit. But when they are logically related and interwoven, the result is an unshakable foundation for life."
(12&12 p 98)

freshstart57

People are not disturbed by things, but by the view they take of them.

There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.

Epictetus