Former UFC Champion Evan tanner has long chronicled his adventures, good and bad, on his jounal. What follows is an excerpt from his most recent entry:
“I had just stepped out of the Octagon where I had stood face to face with one of the top fighters in the world, but it was there, in the dressing room behind the scenes after the fight that night, that I waged my greatest battle. It would have been so easy to have picked up the bottle again in that moment, to have made the decision to go back to it. I could have thought “I tried so hard, I did everything right, and this is my reward?” I could have cursed the heavens and gone back to the bottle. My addiction was still fresh with me. It would have been so easy. And the thought was there, tempting me, teasing me.
That moment, in the silence of the dressing room, faced with crushing disappointment, numbing embarrassment, and that heavy sadness, I faced the old demons. I felt so low, as if everything had been lost. I wanted to drink. I faced those old demons again, and I beat them down. I won the battle, and I won the war. I didn’t drink, and I won’t. That was my great test, one I had to face before I could really move on. I passed it. I stand triumphant, solid, UNSHAKEABLE”
I have known and been a part of a few alcoholics lives, many of which have tried and tried again to quit, if only they had the courage and conviction of Evan Tanner. His dramatic comeback and upsetting defeat would certainly have brought a lesser man crawling back to the habit.
If you have time, read his whole entry, I found it completely inspirational and would think it could help anyone dealing with the same demons. |
