January 3rd - Embracing Change Within

January 3rd - Reflection for the Day

My gambling compulsion is threefold in that it affects me physically, mentally, and spiritually. As a compulsive gambler, I was totally out of touch, not only with myself, but with reality. Day after miserable day, like a caged animal on a treadmill, I repeated my self-destructive pattern of living.

Have I begun to break away from my old ideas? Just for today can I adjust myself to what is, rather than try to adjust everything to my own desires?

Today I Pray

I pray that I may not be caught up again in the downward, destructive spiral that removed me from myself and from the realities of the world around me. I pray that I may adjust to people and situations as they are, instead of always trying, unsuccessfully and with endless frustration, to bend them to my own desires.

Today I Will Remember

I can change only myself.

There was a time when I thought the world needed to bend to my will. If things didn’t go my way, I blamed others, or worse, I gambled to escape the frustration. It wasn’t just about the money—it was about control, or rather, the illusion of control.

Recovery taught me one of the hardest truths I’ve ever faced: I can’t change people, places, or circumstances. The only thing I can change is myself—my attitude, my actions, my choices. That realization was both humbling and liberating.

Breaking free from my old patterns wasn’t easy. I spent years running on a treadmill of self-destruction, trying to fix the world around me instead of looking inward. But recovery helped me step off that treadmill. It gave me tools to face reality, to accept life as it is, not as I wish it to be.

Today, I don’t need to control the uncontrollable. I focus on what I can do: show up, stay honest, and take life one moment at a time. When I let go of the need to force outcomes, I create space for peace, growth, and healing.