It would be difficult to exaggerate the degree to which you
can benefit from adopting a positive attitude during your time in rehab, and of
continuing to hold a positive outlook on life in the time after you complete
your rehab program. A large percentage of people who get addicted to drugs or
alcohol end up in that position as a result of negative thinking: faced with
stressful situations, life pressures and self-criticism, they start drinking or
using drugs as a way to find relief from it all.
Before long, what began as a pleasurable activity becomes a
habit and then takes over control of the person’s life. Now that you are making
big changes in your life by getting clean and sober, it is time for an attitude
adjustment. It is time to realize that this life is yours to live and that it
will be as happy as you make it be that way. You simply cannot depend on
outside factors to determine whether you enjoy your life; some of the most
miserable people in the world are enormously wealthy, while some of the
happiest have lived lives filled with challenges and adversity. The only person
who, in the final equation, decides whether or not you are happy is you, and it
is up to you to establish and maintain a positive attitude.
Negative Thinking Makes Things Go Wrong
Anyone from any walk of life can benefit from going out of
the way to have a positive attitude, but this is especially important for an
individual who is fighting to overcome an addiction. Beating alcoholism or drug
addiction is probably one of the greatest challenges you will ever face, and
you can give yourself an enormous boost by approaching it positively. Negative
thinking will actively undermine your efforts, since it will tend to blow small
failures all out of proportion and make the entire struggle seem to be simply
not worth it. A bad attitude actually increases the likelihood that you will
have a relapse, in light of the fact that you may be more prone to look for
relief by drinking or using drugs.
By thinking negatively, you will tend to make a
self-fulfilling prophecy of failure, due to the fact that you will tend to
approach your tasks with the idea that they are overwhelming or pointless and
will therefore not throw your full effort into succeeding. Then, when you fail,
the fact will only serve to reinforce the bad attitude.
Positive thinking has the opposite effect. When you approach
life with a can-do attitude, you are more likely to achieve the goals you set
for yourself. It is important to make realistic goals which you are capable of
completing, so that you can enjoy the snowball effect of winning at a
challenge, getting a confidence boost and then being capable of taking on even
more. Those who think positive thoughts also tend to enjoy better physical
health, such as with a more robust immune system and lower levels of stress and
inflammation.
You will also probably enjoy higher levels of overall energy,
and will likely notice that other happy people now seek your company, since
positive people are simply nicer to be around. Of course, it is not enough to
simply think positively; you also have to take action towards
achieving your goals. But when you do engage in positive thinking, you will be
far more likely to aggressively go after the things you want in life, and will
progressively become more and more successful. Start now by listing out all the
things that are going right in your life already, followed by listing out the
changes you want to make and the things you want. Choose the easiest targets on
your list, set out to do those things and do them until they are done.
This will set you on the road towards becoming someone who is known for being
positive in thought and action and for being a success in life.
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