Am I a Victim or a Villain?

Victims can't recover.

I heard that at A.A. last week and at first didn't know what it meant. Then I looked back at myself.

I was a victim. My job was eliminated. My friend deserted me. My wife was down on me. My daughter quit speaking to me. I was lonely. Everyone was out to make my life miserable. I didn't deserve that.

See? I was a victim. I couldn't have stopped drinking even if I had wanted to.

Over time,  I saw I was villain, not victim. I brought all the negative feelings on myself. No one was out to make me miserable. I did it to myself in the way I reacted to negative life events.

So I changed myself and my approach to my alcohol addiction. No one could restore me to sanity -- only God and myself. Voila! My life changed.

That's why I now say: Victims can't recover.