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MARCH 3

COURAGE

MENTAL BALANCE

“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear— not absence of fear.”

Mark Twain

In the Serenity Prayer I ask for courage. But what does courage really mean? It’s not the absence of fear; I’ve learned that. Courage in pain recovery, as in all of life, is doing the right thing in spite of fear. I apply courage in all four points of balance. In relation to my thoughts, mental courage is twofold: it is the courage to ignore negative thinking, and it is the ability to think of something new and different, or in a new way.

I practice courage on a mental level by replacing negative, “what’s the use” thoughts with the affirmations, thoughts, and ideas of recovery. I practice having positive thoughts. I practice thinking healthy thoughts. I practice replacing negative ideas with positive ones, and then I put those ideas into action by doing what must be done regardless of what I think, what I fear, how I feel.

This is what it means to have courage, and this is how I change the things that I can. I can change what I do. I can change what I think. In changing what I think and what I do, I can change the way I feel.

I might not ever be able to remove my chronic pain, but I can change my thinking about my pain. In changing my thinking, I change my actions. I practice courage in all points of balance and I dare to think differently.