Get Addicted to Believing Great Things About Yourself!

“Addictions are not to any particular “thing” 

but to the state of mind that the experience of the “thing” provides.”

Howard Falco, I AM

It’s true that addictive behaviors are never about “things.” Addictions are all a byproduct of negative self-beliefs. As long as I believe I am not good enough, I will need an addictive act or object to temporarily bring mental and emotional relief to the inner-pain that I am causing myself.

The solution seems simple: All I need to do is change my beliefs about myself. But implementing this solution is extremely difficult because all of my negative self-beliefs are so deeply engraved in my mental and emotional state of being. Years of negative self-talk don’t simply wash away with the evening tide. It took time to believe the worst about myself and it will take time to believe the best about myself.

In recovery, time often works against us. It’s so much easier to drown our negative self-talk in beer, or chocolate, or a winning ticket at the race track. We receive an instant pay-off in the form of an instant mental and emotional upswing. This is why so many people relapse into addictive behaviors. Everyone wants the instant fix, but it never lasts. Sooner or later we return to our negative self-beliefs, all of the bad mental and emotional pain returns and we’re back at square one.

When we stick with recovery, despite our relapses, time also works for us. Eventually as we work hard at changing our negative self-beliefs into positive self-beliefs, we achieve more balanced mental and emotional states without having to act-out to achieve them. Anyone who has been in a recovery program for five or more years can look back and see the personal progress they have made toward changing their self-beliefs. They can feel how much more comfortable they are in their skin and they can attest to how their behavior and attitudes have changed for the better—even if they sometimes slip and over indulge in ice cream or a shopping spree.

Recovery isn’t about perfection. It’s about making successful progress forward toward loving the person inside.

Let’s take time today to think about the “things” we often use to elevate our negative mental or emotional state. Instead of picking up the car keys and heading to the casino, or grabbing that bottle of wine, let’s create and repeat some positive mantras for ourselves. These mantras will help to change our negative self-beliefs into positive ones and, in the long run, will help to alleviate our need for the casino or the wine. They will provide new beliefs and new positive emotions that will bring balance to our world. They will be the long-term fix that will allow our souls to shine!