Mini Series 13 - Permanent Sobriety, Achieved One Day At A Time

Busting Addiction and Its Myths

I asked a wise man in my program his definition of his life's purpose, and he said: “My goal is to stay sober every day of my life, taking one day at a time, and that’s how I’ll make my sobriety permanent.” There’s magic in living one day, one moment at a time.

1. Your anxiety evaporates when you understand that the future does not really exist, that it’s just an idea in your mind, and you do not have to live there. "Fear is the price you pay to trespass into the future” is an old AA saying.
2. Your emotions get all riled up when you start to see the future as a real thing. Mark Twain, American writer and philosopher famously said: “I have experienced many terrible things, most of which have never happened. “
3. The past is another place you don’t want to live in, or dwell on. My counsellor in early recovery told me: “It’s OK to play the videotape, just don’t stare at it. It isn’t going to change, anyway”.
4. Until you reconcile with the truth of what you did to yourself and others as you work the 12 Steps, the past will likely haunt you with resentments, regrets, shame and hurt. That’s why a) it’s best to stay in today, in the moment and b) get into your recovery and be fearless and thorough from the very start.