Finding the Courage to Quit Drinking
From The Recovery Self Help Project
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It takes courage to stop drinking. And you have that courage. Even though you may not realize it.
Courage, as you probably know, is a French word that means 'heart'. Once you turn your drinking problem over to your heart you will be well on your way to no longer having a drinking problem. You will have found the courage to quit. It's in your heart.
The notion that all the right decisions are made rationally through the head is untrue. That is nothing more than the head's conceit––a head trip, so to speak. In fact, all the right decisions come from the heart. Learn to trust your heart by focusing on your heart when you have a decision to make or a plan to carry out or need guidance.
You will also find the courage to quit drinking by imagining a future without alcohol. We all have fertile imaginations,and it is through our imagination that we create. So use your imagination to create yourself in the future, free of alcohol. See yourself free of all the shackles and impingements that have kept you reliant on alcohol. Don't focus on 'what is wrong with you'. There is nothing wrong with you. You simply have a drinking problem or you are addicted to alcohol. And you can overcome your alcohol problem by using your imagination, by listening to your heart, and, lastly, EXPERIENCING that you are okay. Once you know you are okay you will be filled with courage, and self-confidence, and self-love. And when your filled with those characteristics you will not abuse alcohol and you won't exhibit the characteristics and the behaviors of an alcoholic. You will be free. Because that is what freedom is really about. Being okay with yourself. You don't have to fall in love with yourself; that's nice but not necessary. You just have to be okay with yourself. You have to like yourself and not think you are defective, or flawed, or weak.
There is another way to find your courage––focus on being present. When you are focused on being in the present you obliterate your past and your future. And when you are in the present you are not frightened, you do not feel guilty, you do not feel shame, you do not experience doubt. There are many ways to put yourself into a present state of mind, and countless books to help you get there. If you haven't done so, read Eckhart Tolle's book The Power of Now. It's one of the most important books of its kind ever written and will help you move through your drinking problem.
