Remember When Alcohol Made You Sick

If you're trying to quit or cut back on your alcohol intake, then one of the more important steps is to constantly remind yourself of all the negative experiences related to your alcohol abuse. And, since you're reading this article, chances are that throughout your life you have had a lot of negative experiences involving alcohol.

It is this power of negativity that will help you remember all the reasons why, at some point in your life, you decided that you had a problem, and you decided to do something about it. Looking back on these "bad times" will help you continually reminding yourself WHY it is that you wanted to change in the first place.

When you focus on these negative experiences, and remember how you felt at the time, you'll quickly find yourself building up a resolve to "not go down that road again." But, this resolve won't just come magically to you if you attempt to "block out" all these bad experiences. On the contrary, you have to remember how bad you felt at the time in order to continually reinforce your commitment to be healthier today.

What negative experiences got you to the point of saying "enough is enough"? How many times did you get sick? How many times did you hate yourself for getting drunk? How many arguments did you get into with your loved ones? How much money have you wasted? How often did you get in an accident, or forget what you did? How much of LIFE did you miss out on because drinking alcohol was the most important thing?

Use the Power of Negativity to Remove Alcohol from Your Life

Just to clarify, a positive attitude (coupled with positive actions) is absolutely essential if one is to become a healthier, happier person. You need to view both your present circumstances, and your future life, with an optimism that is grounded in healthy habits.

However, do not underestimate the power of negativity in your desire to remove bad habits from your life. In my article 10 Steps to Get Alcohol Out of Your Life, I noted that you should remember (and feel) the negative experiences you had while drinking alcohol, so that by "re-living" it from time to time you will constantly refresh your memory as to exactly why you wanted to stop drinking alcohol in the first place.

Remind yourself on a daily basis about how bad things WERE for you when you drank too much, and how bad you felt at that time. Be thankful that now you are over that addiction, and that alcohol no longer controls you. Whether you wish to stop drinking completely, or drink in moderation, remember to use the power of negativity to remember the bad times when you abused alcohol, and before you know it you'll develop the resolve to NEVER go down that road again.