Aloha and welcome to the Sobriety Rocks Podcast! I’m your host Kirk Waterman, today we talk about Your Worst Critic and Your Biggest Fans!Jeff Bezos said ““If you can't tolerate critics, don't do anything new or interesting.”People loved, praised, and supported me most of my youth. I had lots of fans, and very few critics. But as my drinking, using and bad behavior escalated, I alienated more and more people, until one day I was all alone, with no more fans, just me, my biggest critic.It wasn’t long before drugs and alcohol wouldn’t take away the pain of my miserable, isolated, lonely existence, that I reached out for help. And oh, did I get help. I told large groups of people the pain and madness I had brought into my and other people’s lives. They laughed and called me courageous. I shared with them the misery of being homeless and not being able to stop using, drinking, lying, cheating, and stealing. They laughed even more, then called me brave.Who were these people? I had been beating myself up, talking poorly to myself about myself for a long time, and they were telling me to ‘be easy on myself’ and to ‘quit beating myself up’.They even showed me a couple of A.A. prayers that I thought were for when I was mad at other people and had me say them for myself. Then they taught me how to clean up all the messes I had made, and how to help people coming in behind me do the same for themselves. When I got to the end of the steps and looked back, it was like my dirty, dark past had been cleaned up by a professional cleaning crew. Not only that, I had quit criticizing myself and everyone around me, had rooms full of fans, and had become your biggest fan too.It’s hard to keep going when no one is clapping for you, and no one is supporting you. But, when we jump in the middle of the pack, do the work, and start helping others do the work too, the critics go away and the fans come out of the woodwork.Wherever you are, whatever you’ve been doing, join us, so you can stop being your worst critic and get a room full of fans!Today we close with a brief, relaxation meditation.I’m Kirk Waterman, thank you for joining us. Aloha!Find Treatment Centers Find Recovery Meetings Listen to Recovery Speakers Download Recovery Literature Access Free Recovery Resources Visit RecoveryHQ.com Visit Sober Surgeries Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook Contact Us For Help Today!