THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: That Old Addictive Thinking.........

You know the saying "Don't judge your insides based on someone else's outside"? Basically meaning don't get down on yourself because you don't measure up to what you PERCEIVE someone else's life to be based on appearances. Why do I find myself doing that?

Logically I know that "you can't judge a book by the cover" (I guess I'm trying to see just how many stupid sayings I can fit into this post) but sometimes I find myself reading a fellow addicts blog entries and wondering why I'm not as put together as them or why they seem to be adjusting more easily to their recovery.

I have never been the type that tries to "keep up with the Joneses" (the spelling of that doesn't look right but you know what I mean) when it comes to my possessions or my lifestyle. I know for a fact that things are not always what they seem. Meaning just because someone has great clothes, has a great house and drives a very nice car, it doesn't mean that they have a problem free existence or even that they are happy.

So why is it then, that when I'm reading a blog entry where an addict or alcoholic is talking about their recovery and how great they are doing, how blessed they are and how grateful they are that I begin to wonder what I'm doing wrong.

Then I catch myself using this old way of thinking (stinking thinking) and I tell myself that I can't be comparing myself to others, it will get me no where. What I need to do is look at myself and if there are areas that I think need improvement, I should improve them.

I know that it's not just addicts and alcoholics that fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to others but I think we all know the outcome can be a little more severe for us than for others.

Taken from "What Winners Do"