If you’ve ever made a poor decision, knowing already that the outcome would only have negative effects on your life, then you may
be finding that your inner demons are winning. Human beings have an amazing capacity for self-deceit and rationalization of some pretty destructive behaviors, and we’ll sometimes go to great lengths to hide from the ugly truth. All this is bad enough when it just affects your own life. But when you have a family to take care of, the damage multiplies. The amount of harm that can be caused if you don’t address these issues is substantial.
The first step is realizing that things are getting out of hand. Stop denying what you already know. Once you’ve accepted that things need to change, you’re already in a much stronger position and have taken the first step towards making positive changes.
Work On Your Self Awareness
It can be hard to see situations clearly. We perpetuate negative scenarios because these pathways feel familiar to us. The brain doesn’t like us to do things that feel new – that’s because it’s wired toward survival.
Even when actions are destructive and don’t make us happy, our brain isn’t concerned if it doesn’t perceive an immediate threat. It prefers to take the path of least resistance, but that doesn’t mean the path that is best for our own wellbeing and that of others. Making a change feels difficult.
So become aware of your behavior, look at what you need to do differently, and accept that it’s going to feel hard. As you learn emotional resilience you are slowly rewiring your neural pathways to think and feel differently.
Seek The Support You Need
Accepting help from others can be another significant barrier to overcome.
As soon as we openly talk about an issue, in a lot of ways, it becomes real and impossible for us to deny. But the thing about our demons is that shining a light on them makes them less powerful. It lessens the hold they have on us. Sometimes it could be talking to a trusted friend, other times you may need professional support.
There is support out there. From finding the right therapist to help you work through past situations that you haven’t resolved, to seeking out a Mens Sober Living Home resolving an issue that has taken hold usually needs outside support.
Practice Letting Go Of The Past
Most of our demons are created in moments of trauma that lie in our pasts.
If we don’t process and deal with trauma at the moment, it often has a way of rearing its head in self-destructive behavior later on. But think about this: every seven years, we are made completely new. Every single molecule in our bodies has regenerated. The past has truly been shed in a physical sense.
Accepting that only the present is truly reality can be tremendously liberating. Yes, awful things may have happened, but you can choose to let go of them and not give them the power to influence your life in the here and now.