September 28, 2015

Quote of the Week

"I may not know how to make it better, but I sure know how to make it worse."

I remember how bad things were before recovery, and how easy it was for me to make them worse. If my job wasn't going well, I'd cop an attitude, show up late, or start slacking off (more than I already was!). If my relationship wasn't going the way I thought it should, I'd shut down and withhold - all with the justified thought, "I'll show her." No matter what was going wrong, I always found a way to make it worse.
 
When I entered recovery, my sponsor taught me that what happened in my life was my responsibility. He showed me how I had a part in everything that happened to me and how my solutions often became worse than the original problem. It took many years for me to accept this and many more to learn how to make better choices. Thank God I had the twelve steps to teach me how.
 
I once heard someone say that the program was the life manual they always wished they had when growing up. I completely relate to this because now I, too, know how to handle situations that used to baffle me. Best of all, though, by staying focused on my part I know how to make things better.
 
Today I have a choice between making the situations in my life better or worse, and most of the time I make the right choice.