The material presented
here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method
to exchange
information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal
level.
"1) The first person you must know is yourself. Human nature seems to endow us with the ability to size up everybody-except ourselves. If you're not comfortable with yourself, you won't be comfortable with others. And if you don't believe in yourself, your lack of self-worth will undermine you in life..
...'The most important relationship you will ever have is with yourself. You've got to be your own best friend first. And you won't get there overnight; it's a process-one that requires a mindset of honesty, ...and constant self-correction.
2) The first person you must work on is yourself. Only as we examine ourselves do we discover where our true battles lie. Then we've a choice."
Whether we change what is needed to be changed in ourselves or we do a patch up job and simply paper over the cracks.
One choice really does work, the other does not and like old wallpaper, it soon peels off if we have not dealt with the cracks and we have to paper over them again and again.
I think I have come to know myself really well, and over the years I have been brutally honest with myself. There seemed to be no point in trying to deceive myself with half truths. For me it was an all or nothing exercise and I chose the ALL.
If a job is worth doing it's worth doing well.
The happiest thing that came out of this was that, before I KNEW MYSELF FULLY I did not really like me, now I know myself fully I have found out that I am rather a likeable person.
Just thought I would share a happy outcome with you. Positivity does wonders when we are fighting such negativity as we do when affected by someone else's alcoholism.
With love,
Suzannah
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Out of the ruin of my past I have found the fortress of myself and I know how to defend it.
Strive for WISDOM; Seek SERENITY; NEVER compromise your INTEGRITY.
Thanks just what I needed to hear. I have done my step four as you say really hard to be honest with yourself and look in the mirror. Sometimes i have slips and put down the mirror and pick back up the magnifiying glassess looking at other and taking the focus of the hard work I have to do. Just ready to try and do step five will remember what you have shared I will move forward not backwards if I can achieve this next step
The happiest thing that came out of this was that, before I KNEW MYSELF FULLY I did not really like me, now I know myself fully I have found out that I am rather a likeable person.
Interesting! I've sort of been coming to the same conclusion, without having articulated it as such, but you've just done it for me.
Thank you for putting my vague thoughts into words -- it gives me additional motivation to keep doing this work!
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Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could... Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense. - Emerson
