Alcoholism – What is failure?

Our modern culture seems riveted on success vs. failure in simple black and white terms. No matter the subject, we always seem to divide along two lines, one of winning and then that of suffering loss. Modern children are raised with this strong since of success vs. failure which is more often seen as winning vs. loosing. The sporting arena is probably our first guide stone for measuring success as we quickly grow accustomed to our favorite team “winning”. As we grow in life, the simplicity of picking winning sides becomes intuitive and without thought as we quickly learn disdain for loosing.

When it comes to addiction in Columbia SC, is this really the best attitude to approach recovery? For instance, if one finally makes a very difficult and hard choice of picking a day and time to begin living clean and sober, then is it really wise to view subsequent time periods of drinking or drugging as success or failure? If one does drink or drug again after becoming clean and sober, has that person truly “failed”?

It’s unimaginable that any person, let alone a very sick addict or alcoholic, could possibly have the strength and ability to permanently overcome the mental pressure that success or failure brings on. What enormous pressure to be under for all of the remaining hours of ones life! I will NEVER drink again? Ever? I will NEVER use again, ever? Do the hours not begin to tick by like weighty bricks with that thought?

The secret to successful recovery is to change our way of thinking on what successful recovery really means. Have we indeed failed if we drink again? After all, that is what alcoholics do, drink that is. We must first learn to accept and realize that for alcoholics and addicts to drink or use, is for alcoholics and addicts to die. These substances kill us. Once we replace our old fashioned notions of success vs. failure with this simple fact, we are then ready to make progress in our recovery. Gone will be the shame we feel if/when we do become intoxicated again. As long as we are alive, we are NOT failing! As long as we are alive, we have the power to choose to live sober that very day regardless of anything that may have happened on any preceding day. We must shed the stigma that to drink or drug makes us a looser. We must commit ourselves to a simple fact, that every day we are alive we have a choice of living sober that one day.