• What is the Gray Area?
    • What is the Gray Area?
    • What is Gray Area Drinking?
    • Question the Drink®
    • FAQ
  • My Story
    • My Story
    • How I Cope
    • Client Stories
  • Blog
  • Work With Me
    • Work With Me
    • Connect
    • Media
    • Corporate Training
GrayTonicGrayTonic
GrayTonicGrayTonic
  • What is the Gray Area?
    • What is the Gray Area?
    • What is Gray Area Drinking?
    • Question the Drink®
    • FAQ
  • My Story
    • My Story
    • How I Cope
    • Client Stories
  • Blog
  • Work With Me
    • Work With Me
    • Connect
    • Media
    • Corporate Training

The problem with saying “I AM an alcoholic”

problem with saying i am an alcoholic

The problem with saying “I AM an alcoholic”

THE POWER OF “I AM”

If you’re familiar with the famous story of Moses and the burning bush, you know the power in these words. While we aren’t God, there is power in internally verbalizing OR outwardly expressing what we say. This becomes powerful and life-changing, or soul-destroying and hurtful.

In most traditional types of recovery programs, it is encouraged that you use the “I am” statement. You know, the famous;

“Hi, I’m ______ and I am an alcoholic”.

I have a problem with this practice. A BIG problem.

You see, the words “I am” are extremely powerful. They become embedded in our subconscious minds as our own reality. This perception has been formed in our brains as factual. This could be either life-building or soul-destroying. Wait, what?

If we’re going to use these statements, why not use them for POSITIVE outcomes, instead of keeping us in a negative spin of wearing the famous victim-hat?  We’ve become our own worst enemy by declaring something that we don’t want.

There is not ONE person alive that is proud to say, “I AM an alcoholic! I have waited my whole life for this!”.  Nobody strives to achieve that title.

For the naysayers out there defending this ritual, hear me out, please.

If you say to yourself every day, “I am fat”, do you think this is doing you any good? Is this statement serving you in a positive light? How does it make you feel? Does it provoke action on your part? Or does it make you stay in the victim lane of being overweight and depressed? My bet would be the latter.

We do this out of habit but it soon turns to our own perception of reality.

Ouch.

Let’s take another example of this, but in a positive way. Let’s say you do feel that you do have a problem with drinking but instead of announcing to yourself, “I AM an alcoholic”, you say, “I am more powerful than a drink and I am stronger than any desire, trigger, feeling or seduction that alcohol has over me!”. What if?  What if you said this instead? Do you think your life would change? I would say it would.

It’s time to stop saying the statements that will keep you in a negative mindset. It is good to acknowledge where you are with something, yes. I agree wholeheartedly in acknowledgment, but if you knew you had the power to overcome the negativity that surrounds the stigmatism of labeling, why would you continue to put yourself in that place?

Start with your positive I AM’s today and every day. Make this a daily routine. Don’t stop until it becomes your new reality. It works for all areas of your life.

How liberating to know that we all possess the power of words and how this can ultimately shape our subconscious minds!  We are more powerful than we can imagine and certainly more powerful than a glass of liquid.

Recent Posts

  • The Top 5 Reasons Why You Might Be Failing Dry January
  • Redirect – Part Five of SABER
  • Embrace is Self Grace – Part Four of SABER
  • BREATHE – Part Three of SABER
  • Acknowledging Your Thoughts, Part Two of SABER

 

Hi! I’m Kari Schwear, Founder of GrayTonic, and the Question the Drink movement.

I am a perpetual life-learner, a 7x career-path conqueror, speaker, writer, coach, and entrepreneur. I am also a former gray area drinker that struggled with understanding the why and how I got there.

Categories

  • alcohol awareness
  • Dry January
  • Gray area drinking
  • Gray Areas of Life
  • Life Coaching
  • Lifestyle
  • Mindful Drinking
  • Saber Method
  • Sober Curious
  • Sobriety
  • Uncategorized
  • Wellness

Instagram

Instagram did not return a 200.

Follow Me!

Contact Us

We're currently offline. Send us an email and we'll get back to you, asap.

Send Message

AS SEEN ON

© 2021 · GrayTonic

  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
Next