After nearly 27 years of sobriety, it's easy to be a good mood. In fact, I'm pretty much in a good mood all the time. I don't have to work to get there because that's the way I wake up and that's the way I go to bed.
It wasn't always that way. When I first got sober, nearly 27 years ago, I was like many other newly sober addicts and alcoholics. I looked outside of myself to find happiness. If I was unhappy, it was because the external world was not complying with my wishes. People weren't doing what I wanted them to do. No one really appreciated me or understood just how important I was.
As the years went on, and I got further into recovery, I realized that the better relationship I had with my own thinking the better the outside world looked. No longer did I seek material things or other people for my happiness. Instead, I started paying attention to my own thinking and realize that I had to, first of all, get my ego out of the way – as much as possible. I had to learn how to accept others, just as they were – rather than as how I wanted them to be. And that shift – just looking at myself and my part in the world – made all the difference in my life.
I was at a meeting the other day where a gentleman was talking about how many problems he was having with his business partner. He said the situation was nearly driving him crazy.
But someone else in the room pointed out that there's always someone or something in our lives to challenge us. We resolve one problem or situation and another pops up. It's the rhythm of life.
And the way we stay happy and emotionally level is to realize that everything isn't always going to go our way. And if we take that view, we aren't going to pick up a drink, a drug, a cigarette, or engage in self-destructive anger.
Instead, we're going to accept the ups and downs of life and be grateful that we're here to enjoy them.
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