Monday Thoughts 7.4.22 - Women for Sobriety

“Pay attention to what you pay attention to.”

Amy Krouse Rosenthal

“It’s never too late to turn on the light. Your ability to break an unhealthy habit or turn off an old tape doesn’t depend on how long it has been running; a shift in perspective doesn’t depend on how long you’ve held on to the old view. When you flip the switch in that attic, it doesn’t matter whether it’s been dark for ten minutes, ten years, or ten decades. The light still illuminates the room and banishes the murkiness, letting you see the things you couldn’t see before. It’s never too late to take a moment to look.”

Sharon Salzberg

“What we create within is mirrored outside of us.”

Shakti Gawain

#2 Negative thoughts destroy only myself.

My first conscious sober act is to reduce negativity in my life.

In computer science, the term “garbage in, garbage out” is the concept that flawed or nonsensical input data produces flawed and nonsensical output. So applying this concept to our own thought patterns gives us negativity in, negativity out, which does not feel healthy or balanced. Yet there is a solution. Sobriety and Statement #2 in action help change the negative input.

In early sobriety, oftentimes thoughts are centered on simply staying sober. I challenged myself every day to combat those old patterns. Identifying my thoughts became easier, and slowly but surely new healthy patterns of thought were being input. Just like the line in our WFS Program booklet, “Our overcoming is in exact proportion to our becoming.” Positive thoughts in, positive thoughts out.

With all that is going on in the world right now, it is imperative that we manage and guard our thoughts. It is also important to understand that our energy is different each day, which can affect our thinking and how we respond. Putting Statement #2 into practice can include building healthy input and routines. Avoiding sugar (since it increases cravings), getting enough sleep, eating balanced meals, connecting with other 4C women, meditation, or writing in a journal are all great inputs. Balance in, balance out!

Hugzzz

Karen

Hi 4C Women,

After sharing last Monday’s Statement #1 with my WFS group, Statement #2 is a great follow-up to being in charge of our well-being, and our definition of who we are. I found in my recovery that negative thoughts were a trigger to feeling unworthy of a New Life. I found additional words that trigger in some old paperwork. I want to share them with you as they were the negative words I fed myself that took a lot of hard work to turn around.

Added to my negative thoughts/triggers list:

I felt shamed

I felt guilty

I felt abandoned

I felt inadequate

I felt overwhelmed

I felt rejected

I felt resentment

The group added “I felt vulnerable”

When you add all of these feelings to the long list of last Monday’s Thoughts, it is understandable that negative thoughts require our full commitment to creating plans to let negativity out and positive thoughts in. Many of our struggles are with family as there is emotional history and our reactions reflect that. This is why I believe practicing Statement #2 is one of the most challenging. However, the challenge is so worth the freedom and empowerment you receive in return. It’s amazing how it became second nature to me to turn off a negative thought about who I was by just saying this Statement.

I encourage you to create a list of I am…. with every single positive characteristic you can think of. Ask those you trust to share the words they would use to define you. Keep that list handy and when the negative thoughts start filling your head, get out that list and have that as your truth – your authentic definition of who you are and who you are becoming.

While you are making a positive list of who you are and creating plans to reduce those negative thoughts, please add fun to your self-care. Many times we overlook the joy that is found in recovery. I have learned that having fun creates positive thoughts so I encourage you to add that to your self-care plan.

Bonded in releasing negative thoughts and empowering your recovery with all the positivity you can muster, Dee