When gratitude is mentioned as a cornerstone of recovery, we tend to think externally and express our thanks and grace towards others and the universe. But what about internalizing that gratitude?

When asked (to paraphrase that Rufus featuring Chaka Khan hit from the ‘70s), to “tell me something good”, most people tend to pause and stumble when answering. Ask “what’s wrong?”, and folks tend to word vomit all over themselves and others. Negativity saps both our physical and emotional energy, and recovery requires all the energy one can muster.

If we go to a performance-a show, a concert, the circus-and the performer completes their assigned task well, they take a bow and embrace their TA DA! Moment. They are not only thanking the audience for noticing, but also the universe for allowing them the skill and courage to perform. But they are also recognizing themselves for having the perseverance, actually doing the work, and the faith to make it happen.

By and large, we don’t do that in our everyday lives. While humility is essential in recovery, it does not mean not acknowledging what we do well. It is important to stop at least once a day, acknowledge something we do well, then take a step forward, throw out our arms, and offer up the heartiest of TA DA’s to ourselves and the universe. Some days our TA DA moment will be major-I found the cure for cancer-TA DA! Other days, not so much-I got out of bed this morning-TA DA! Hopefully, every day will allow for this moment-I’m sober today-TA DA!

Let’s be honest, there are going to be days when the TA DA is hard to find. Recovery is full of challenges. This is not about unfounded optimism of faking it until you make it. This is about understanding that we control our attitude. It is those days when gratitude is hardest to find that we need it most.

“The days I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations, those are good days.” – Ray Wiley Hubbard

TA DA!