The way we approach our sobriety is the way we approach life. We hate this parallel. We liked to think we were proficient in most areas and that our drinking was the only problem we possessed. We were shocked to realize that our alcoholic drinking was the effect (the end result) of our thinking. We were not the effects of the alcohol. We were a product of our thinking. Alcohol had become the solution to our inability to cope. Craving escape—this was/is our addiction.

If alcohol was the problem, the removal of the alcohol would be the solution. It wasn’t. Most alcoholics are miserable sober, thus the relapsing. In a seemingly sane frame of mind we get the bright idea to have a drink. We can somehow convince self it is ok to drink again, despite all the facts, all the history, and all the misery; we convince self it is acceptable.

Why?

It’s because we never bothered to truly embark on changing the way we thought. We never bothered to change the way we behaved and the thought process that lead to that behavior. We never bothered to take a good hard look at how we functioned, how our subconscious thinking was directing our life. We never entertained the idea that we could (and should) learn about addiction and what it means for us. We took it for granted. We didn’t appreciate the brilliance of a sober life. We were bored and stagnant in our recovery.

Even with a small measure of sobriety we ignorantly believed we could drink again. We stayed in a cycle of wanting, temporarily achieving, but ultimately failing. Our grandest pursuit in life became the acquisition of sobriety, the long-term type. Sobriety where you aren’t wondering around thinking about drinking, the kind where you no longer had to apologize for what you did last night. That was the goal, to not be thinking about and acting upon thoughts of drinking. If we could do that life would be grand. Then once we had it, we let it go. We forgot where we came from.

Alcoholism didn’t come and steal our sobriety. We gave it away. We didn’t value it. We quit caring about growth—evolution. We lacked discipline and honesty. We undervalued resources and overvalued pride. We stopped reframing our perspective. We settled into mediocrity and comfort. We felt we deserved a reward for our hard work.

If we want success then it must be hinged upon our effort, desire, and creation. We are not victims of alcoholism anymore then we are victims of recovery.

We know how to let our heart burn for another drink. Do we know how to let it burn for recovery—for living? Most in recovery do not. We have become content with everything less than extraordinary.

We’ve become scared to step into a challenge because we fear change … so we stay safe and unengaged in life. After all, we quit drinking, wasn’t that supposed to be enough? My gosh, now we need step into other challenges. We are shocked that our sacrifice of giving-up-drink, has not transformed our family— our life.

If we want to stay sober we get the opportunity to engage fully in life. There is nothing we cannot accomplish today when bolstered with the proper support.

We have everything to lose if we drink.

We have our sobriety to lose if we don’t start stepping into our life and the challenges that stand before us.

Let your heart burn to live—really live life.

Today’s challenge: “I don’t have to, I get to.”