Bad Choices

[keeta]

Firstly, I want to thank every one who gave love and hugs in my other post.

Seocndly, I want to ask...why do we make bad choices?...Over and over?
Like the out come will be different.

Dumb.

So...when did you finially make the smart choice, and change?...What made you pick another path...FINIALLY?? And how did you do it??

[Bambi]

Bad Choices

Great Post Keeta!

I am not there yet, still making the dumb choices! I don't know when it clicks, but I think it just does.

Wishing the "click" for you and others!

Hang in there.........Good luck,
Hugs, Bambi

PS: I can't wait to read all the other responses to this million dollar question!

[AAthlete]

Bad Choices

Once I was able to give up trying to micro-manage every little thing that went on in my life I was able to relax, find peace and start making better choices for my life. Don't get me wrong - I will never, ever makes all the right choices, but I am not so wrapped up in AAthlete's little world anymore, am making progress and that is what really matters to me right now.

[KateH1]

Bad Choices

Yep.....it is all about progress and not perfection! Putting down the bottle for good is the first step!

The other thing Keeta is to not allow yourself to be "overwhelmed"! Years of drinking leave a lot to straighten out. Set reasonable goals every day. And accomplish those goals! Success breeds success!

[lookingforhope22]

Bad Choices

Hi Keeta,

I have learnt that there is no such thing as a bad or good choice... the reason why you take a certain path at a certain time in your life is because that's what feel right at the time. If you take a certain path and then think.....shit why did i make that decision I could have done that better is when you start learning that next time you may take another direction.

We can only chose what we know to be right until we learn a better way.
A better way can take days, weeks, years of repeating old patterns before we change it. You are hear now getting help and support and that says that you want to change old patterns - so really your are on your way to making better decisions for yourself.

Yes we are work in progress - try and enjoy the journey it can be enlightening as long as we dont beat ourselves up on the way.

Hope that helps....xx

[4theboyz]

Bad Choices

Very good and interesting question and once worth asking.

I can can count specifically 5 times over the last 3 years when I *knew* I was getting into trouble with booze but never did anything to change. I knew AL was doing bad things to my body, the close calls with driving, drinking heavily every night and going to work when I was a wreck from drinking the night before. I saw just how close I was coming to going completely over the edge and doing something that would cause a terrible life-changing event in my life.

Then this last time, I got afraid. I saw just how close I was to ruining not just my life, but my wife's and my boys and blowing everything I worked so hard to achieve.

So for me the difference was I *knew* I was next. I knew the bottom was coming at me fast and furious and if I didn't do something right then, something very bad was going to happen that I had no control over at the time. AL ruled my life that bastard!

Simply put, my dependency on AL scared the hell out of me. So I did and am doing everything I can to make sure I never put myself in that position of vulnerability ever again.

[dexterhead]

Bad Choices

for me, I think part of it was a series of really bad events in my life I had little control over. This led me to this ingrained negative thread running through my brain telling me that I don't really have control over my own life, which of course is ridiculous. But how do you get the stupid thread in your brain to change to a more positive and rational message? That is the problem.

[Princess Fiona]

Bad Choices

We are supposed to learn from our mistakes, this is what we tell our children....yet... we make choices with a bottle that affects them, our greatest gift, I agree so much with 4theboyz, you click when you realise, (in a sober state!!) who and what you can lose...seeing my husband look at me with distain and my 17yr old daughter telling me how disappointed she was with me and my behaviour, was embarrassing, what example was I setting? so, had only one choice....I will not be drawn into the evil bastards web again!!!

[Deena]

Bad Choices

Hi Keeta,
I think we are all a work in progress, and I don't know that we ever can say we FINALLY make the FINAL smart choice, or take the FINAL right path. Our lives are a series of choices, a series of paths that cross and intermingle. Each and every one of us wakes up each day with choices to make, and paths to go down no matter what happened yesterday.

I think that when we finally decide to DO something about a problem, any problem in our lives, we are making a smart choice. ACKNOWLEDGMENT of the problem is a smart choice. Give yourself some credit here. Coming to this website and reading and posting is a smart choice. Taking supplements and reducing our drinking is a smart choice. Going AF is a smart choice. Helping each other is a smart choice.

Changing the way we live our lives is difficult. We are attempting to break a cycle of behavior/addiction depending on what you believe about all this. Maybe what you call bad choices are really bad habits?

The question should be why is change so difficult, not why do we make bad choices?