The Language of Letting Go, May 8
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The Language of Letting Go, May 8
May 8
You are reading from the book "The Language of Letting Go."
Giving Ourselves What We Deserve
I worked at a good job, making a decent salary. I had been recovering for years. Each morning, I got into my car and I thanked Higher Power for the car. The heater didn't work. And the chance of the car not starting was almost as great as the chance that it would. I just kept suffering through and thanking Higher Power. One day, it occurred to me that there was absolutely no good reason I couldn't buy myself a new car that moment if I wanted one. I had been gratitudeing myself into unnecessary deprivation and martyrdom. I bought the new car that same day.
--Anonymous
Often, our instinctive reaction to something we want or need is, No! I can't afford it!
The question we can learn to ask ourselves is, But can I?
Many of us have learned to habitually deprive ourselves of anything we might want, and often things we need.
Sometimes, we can misuse the concept of gratitude to keep ourselves unnecessarily deprived.
Gratitude for what we have is an important recovery concept. So is believing we deserve the best and making an effort to stop depriving ourselves and start treating ourselves well.
There is nothing wrong with buying ourselves what we want when we can afford to do that. Learn to trust and listen to yourself about what you want. There's nothing wrong with buying yourself a treat, buying yourself something new.
There are times when it is good to wait. There are times when we legitimately cannot afford a luxury. But there are many times when we can.
Today, I will combine the principles of gratitude for what I have with the belief that I deserve the best. If there is no good reason to deprive myself, I won't.
©1990, Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved.
You are reading from the book "The Language of Letting Go."
Giving Ourselves What We Deserve
I worked at a good job, making a decent salary. I had been recovering for years. Each morning, I got into my car and I thanked Higher Power for the car. The heater didn't work. And the chance of the car not starting was almost as great as the chance that it would. I just kept suffering through and thanking Higher Power. One day, it occurred to me that there was absolutely no good reason I couldn't buy myself a new car that moment if I wanted one. I had been gratitudeing myself into unnecessary deprivation and martyrdom. I bought the new car that same day.
--Anonymous
Often, our instinctive reaction to something we want or need is, No! I can't afford it!
The question we can learn to ask ourselves is, But can I?
Many of us have learned to habitually deprive ourselves of anything we might want, and often things we need.
Sometimes, we can misuse the concept of gratitude to keep ourselves unnecessarily deprived.
Gratitude for what we have is an important recovery concept. So is believing we deserve the best and making an effort to stop depriving ourselves and start treating ourselves well.
There is nothing wrong with buying ourselves what we want when we can afford to do that. Learn to trust and listen to yourself about what you want. There's nothing wrong with buying yourself a treat, buying yourself something new.
There are times when it is good to wait. There are times when we legitimately cannot afford a luxury. But there are many times when we can.
Today, I will combine the principles of gratitude for what I have with the belief that I deserve the best. If there is no good reason to deprive myself, I won't.
©1990, Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved.
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Join Date: Mar 2013
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Posts: 11,481
You're welcome, Kboys, and you would be welcome at my house, too, but unfortunately it doesn't look as nice as today's photo...that's a picture I found on the net of a guest house that I believe is in India? I can't take credit.
I also wish I could go hang out there for a while. It does look calming and lovely, doesn't it?
I also wish I could go hang out there for a while. It does look calming and lovely, doesn't it?
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Location: Silicon Valley, CA
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This is actually a fine line for me because I tend to "treat" myself in unhealthy ways. Like with a shopping trip when my closet is bursting or a 1,000 calorie dessert when I haven't been eating very healthy, when what I could really use is a few hours of babysitter time and a massage or a really big bouquet of my favorite flowers or a fresh coat of paint on my toenails.
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