Having Trouble Staying “Stopped?”

Stopping? Easy. “Staying stopped?” Not so much.  Have you ever had thoughts like these?  “I can start tomorrow,” “I really need a drink,” “I am too tired,” “I’ll just have one,” or “It’s not hurting anybody.” Excuses are statements we sometimes make to ourselves that make our addictive behavior seem reasonable. In other words, we use excuses to justify behavior that we know is harmful. These excuses are destructive. They block, interfere, or sabotage our goals of recovery and more. We may be so practiced in thinking these excuses that they even become automatic. We may not even be aware that we are making these excuses unless we pay close attention to our thoughts. It is good practice to pay attention to our excuses and evaluate them logically with a sponsor or another experienced member of the program. We can be our own worst enemy when left alone in our heads. You can have RESULTS or EXCUSES, but you can’t have both!