In meetings, you probably have heard a million times that the past is your greatest asset in your recovery. Remembering what your last day drunk or high was like along with all the incomprehensible demoralization that proceeded that final day gives you ammunition to stay sober. Forgetting your shameful past only gets you closer to relapse because you perceive you are magically immune to your addiction.

Remembering your past does not mean you are living in it. Getting caught up living in the past means that you cannot move on. You cannot let go of the trauma, abuse, or bad memories and let them haunt you with no resolve. Instead of trying to work through the pain of the past, you wallow in it and use it as a weapon to justify your bad behavior.

Living in the past creates misery, anxiety and unsettled apprehension which only affects your attitude and how you interact with others. Mustering the courage to overcome the perception of what it was like before, will help you to move along into your future without continuing to carry the burden of your past.

Learn to forgive

If you are consistently brooding over what this person did to you or how that friend wronged, you are not absolving what others have done to you. Instead, you are entangled in your own prison of resentment which is not good for your sobriety.

Learn to be compassionate

If you are constantly blaming others without acknowledging your own mistakes, you are condemning others for the sake of your own pride. Finding your part and making amends for own actions keeps you in check to give grace to others.

Learn to love yourself

Self-hatred is often caused by reliving the past to determine what you could have done differently. Letting the error of your ways go and pardoning your callowness will open the door to start loving yourself.

Learn to have a positive outlook

Taking a kinder and gentler look at what the past entails can you the ability to understand the lessons that were learned along the way. Being optimistic that you can make changes for the betterment for today will move you in the right direction for the future.

You cannot reach for anything new in the future if your hands are still holding onto what happened in your past. Let go of yesterday’s chaos and reach for your future of renewal.  

The Kimberly Center is a treatment center that uses evidence-based methods of recovery to focus on your individuality and inner strength to help you get sober from drugs and alcohol. Your plan of recovery will be customized to fit your background and experience with addiction.

Call us today to begin: 855-4-KCENTER (855-452-3683)