On February 23, 2018 it will be seven months to the day that I drank my last beer, downed my last shot, and took my last pill. On February 23rd I graduate from the six month recovery program I checked myself into back in August. I get to pack my bags, say my thank yous and goodbyes, and enter back into the hustle and bustle that the real world has to offer as a confident sober clear minded man. I get to sleep in my own bed. I get to shower in my own shower, not one I share with seventeen other men. I get to play with my own dogs, Beanie & Shaq, rather than our lovable docile pit-bull house dog, Sasha. I will get to drive a car again. I will be able to use my cell phone at my own will. And I will be able to begin writing my next book on my own computer in my own house.
During the six months of my stay here at the recovery house I wrote an amazing book. I wrote an amazing book on a public computer. I wrote an amazing book in a library that I could only go to twice a day for two hours at a time. I wrote a book in a library that I had to walk or bike to through a harsh New England winter because the program doesn't allow you to have a car. At the house we can only access the computer lab twice a week. Rather than wasting away my precious valuable time scrolling through Facebook, I chose to get my ass to the library to focus on my recovery. Without writing there is no recovery. Without recovery there is no writing.
If you were to tell me seven months ago that I would become an author, a public speaker, and be a man that many would come to for help with their own addiction problems I would have laughed in your face and proceeded to crush up another pill. But the journey I have been on simply reconfirms that absolutely anything is possible if we want it bad enough, even writing a soon-to-be bestselling book. Don't ever doubt yourself. Don't ever count yourself out. Please, Stop Thinking Like That.
If I had wasted one more day before finally surrendering to my problems and asking for help I wouldn't be here right now. I can guarantee that. But waiting was no longer an option. If you continue waiting around for the miracle to happen life is going to pass you by. Miracles only occur to those that are willing to put in the work. They occur only AFTER you get your ass up and move forward, once the fire finally fills your eyes. As with luck, miracles are only the byproducts of hard work. You're not going to win the lottery anytime soon let alone meet your future husband / wife or get a job by withering away on the couch. Trust me, I tried it. You need to take action. Get up, get going, and good things will happen to you.
Seven months ago I was that man withering away on his couch. The only clothes I'd change were my hooded sweatshirts in my attempt to assure that the liquor store clerk would never realize the bum I was becoming. Who was I kidding? I hadn't brushed my teeth in days, showered in weeks, or eaten a full meal in months. Now, I'm always fresh and clean, dressed to impress, and devouring meal after meal. My body looks more and more similar to the shape it was in when I was running around with New Mexico and Texas playing minor league ball five years ago. You can be whomever you want to be, too. I don't care where you may be or how far down the scale you've fallen. Life can and will be great again.
And if you don't think you deserve happiness and hopelessness has completely consumed you please Stop Thinking Like That and contact me immediately. I'll be the first to remind you of all the good inside of you, the greatness you are capable of, and that you are greater than your current circumstances. I've been in your shoes, but my size thirteen's weren't meant to stay in the dark collecting dust. They were meant to be the foundation of greatness. They were meant to get me to the library to write a book to inspire you to dust off your shoes and step forward.
I will be here cheering you along every step of the way as you begin to crush your journey, as well!
You can. You will. You must.
PLEASE ADD ME :)
#recovery #addiction #alcoholism #inspiration #opioidepidemic #motivation #believe
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