Ok, here we go. Quick little exercise. Take a second and read each of these four phrases out-loud.
- I don’t know for sure
- I made a mistake
- I am sorry
- I forgive you
No, I said outloud. Try again.
There you go… much better.
Did you make it through all four? For most of you this is a pretty simple exercise. But for some, you may have had a tough time with a certain one.
Especially the last one.
But for me the hardest one to say and truly mean is number one. Why? I guess I like to think that I know everything.
Seriously, if I had to get honest, I would say my pride pushes me to claim that I know about stuff when I don’t have a clue, my ego tells me I have to be right when I know I am wrong and my arrogance screams no one else can have a different opinion then I do.
How sick is that? Pretty sick. But I know I am not alone. As an addict I’ve struggled with feelings of insecurity for a long time. Typically people mask or cover insecurities with pride, arrogance and false ego.
This crazy arrogance that tells me I am always right can make me crazy and lead me down a road to relapse if I’m not careful.
Today I know one thing for sure. My journey of self-improvement and the quest for eternal sobriety is just getting under way. I still have a LOT of work to do. Reading through this list of the most difficult phrases to say helps to remind me of that.
Challenge
Contemplate which phrase is hardest for you say? Whichever one it is, focus on acknowledge it and then do something to change it today.