Many times over the last 25 years people who have heard that I no longer choose to be a drunkard of epic proportions have said, "Congratulations or You must be very proud or Very few people have that type of willpower." While all of these sentiments are nice and certainly genuine they do make me wonder. What exactly am I supposed to be proud of again?
This is one of the great tricks the addict or drunkard likes to play. When you quit drinking (this can be any vice but alcohol was my favorite so I will use that for the rest of this post) the people who know you best and know how badly you needed to quit will pour the adulation on you. And it feels good. Even to a hard ass like me the praise makes you smile. Then you go a few weeks and nobody is that impressed anymore. You are not the star of the show. Much like getting drunk and losing a car gets you attention so does stopping drinking. So what does any good wet brained drunk do when he isn't the attraction anymore? He gets hammered.
Truth be told once I quit drinking I became like every other normal, hard working American. Now I am just doing what most people do anyway. And I am to be applauded? Way to go, you didn't destroy any one's property or make an ass out of yourself today. Doesn't sound right, does it? The real trick that myself and the few and the proud did (apologies to the Marines) was to admit we were weaker than whatever our vice was. Most people don't congratulate you for being weak. But that is what leads to success. Winners never quit, doesn't work with drunks. Nor does thinking. My brilliant brain convinced me day after day, drink after drink, fight after fight, felony after felony, that I did not have a drinking problem. And I didn't. I could drink for days and weeks and months on end. What I couldn't do was stop. Until I gave up. Quit. Admitted defeat.
The reason this came to mind is I am approaching the day I first had any success quitting drinking. 26 years ago on the 14th of this month. And the further along I get the more I feel the need to share some of my thoughts in the hope it might actually help someone else. Not many people get to hear that it's okay to quit. To give up. But for some of us it's the only way to win.
Till next.........
Till next.......
Love this post.
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