How To Live A Simple And Happy Life

Simplicity is a great thing for some people, but not all.  Many of us tend to overdue many things in life and wind up over their heads in debt.  How to live a simple and happy life is all in your hands.

Many want the best of everything including huge homes that come with a huge price tag.  Sure anyone would love that big house, but can you really afford it and are you buying this home just for a status thing?  Do you really need to have a home so large that you get lost in it, because after all you are only in one room at a time and some rooms may not ever be used. 

I wanted my whole life to have such a home, but the older I got and the way our economy is today it simply isn't worth it, in my mind of course.  Others may think differently than I do.

I have found that less is more and that's what I'm living like now.  In four days from now, October 27, 2011 will be 2 years clean and sober for me and I have to say, I have done so much to improve my life in those two years that I even surprised myself.

Yes, I had a addiction to alcohol and I am not a shamed to say so.  I know I was doing wrong, but the demons inside me seemed to have more power over me than I thought.  I changed my way of living and surrendered to the addiction that help me back from doing what I wanted, but nor anymore.  The demons are in the past and I now live a simple and happy life with my wife down at the Jersey Shore where I have wanted to live for the past 30 years and finally made it.

I sold my home and downsized to a Manufactured home in a 55+ community.  I had to sell of give away most of my things because of space at the new home.  You have to give a little to get you know.  I have no more two car garage to store things, so I cleaned the garage out and only keep what I really needed and the rest went into a self storage 2 tenths of a mile from my home.  When I need something I just go and get it, such as our holiday decorations etc.

Life is what you make it and I was willing to sacrifice many things so that I could live my dream at the Jersey Shore.  Once I quit drinking alcohol everything began to take shape in my life and I couldn't be happier and my wife that stuck by my side through years of drinking is thrilled of my new sober life and our new home.

If you want something in life, just go for it.  You will never know unless you at least try.

• Think of what you truly want out of your life.
• If you think you can be happy with less then try downsizing.
• Do you want piece of mind or look what I own?
• Do you Prestige or Happiness?
• Think of all the money you would save by living simple.

There are so many things you can think of to make your life and your families a simpler and happier life only if that is the way you wish to live being simple, but happy.  That is what I choose and I couldn't be happier.

Living With A Positive Attitude

Thinking, acting and living with a positive attitude can change your life in so many ways.  Positivity in ones life is so important in order to live a quality and happy life. 

So many people nowadays are so negative in many ways, such as thinking they will never make it in today's world because of financial reasons, relationship reasons and just the stress of everyday life. This is not the way to think if you want to get anywhere in life or fulfill that long time dream you might have.

I'd like to share a small part of my life with you by telling you that I once was a bit of a negative person back in my drinking days.  Nothing ever seemed to go right for me no matter how I tried or what I did.  The reason was I didn't have that positive attitude in my mind.

You can't expect any good out of life when living with negativity.  Once I decided to quit drinking alcohol, everything seemed to start looking better in my life, meaning I had a whole new outlook on my life and life in general.

Having a positive attitude in life really means a world of difference, at least it does for me.  I can't imagine living in a negative world anymore because ever since I quit drinking alcohol and started to live life with a positive attitude everything has changed for the better.

I always wanted to live by the sea for the 30 years I have been married and it never came true for the simple reason I had something standing in my way of my dream and that was my addiction to alcohol.  It made me NOT think proper and I made hasty and bad decisions for many years financially which ruined my dream more than once.

I wanted the best, but was not willing to change my life in order to get the best all because I put alcohol in front of everything and sometimes even my own family.

So the point I am trying to make is that if you truly want something in your life and you are having a hard time achieving it, maybe a change of attitude may help, as it helped me.  I changed my life around and surrendered to my addiction and then began to think straight and positive.

My dream finally came true and I am living my dream sober and by the sea.  Sometimes it takes a long time to realize what you are doing is wrong, such as being addicted to alcohol for myself, but as I said, you have to help yourself in order to make things in life a reality.

How And When Should We Take Action Of Our Addiction

When someone is addicted to drugs or alcohol they seem to forget the true meaning of their life and let their addiction take their life over.  The question is how and when should we take action of our addiction before it is too late?

The thing is, if we continue on this path of self destruction how long do you think we would be alive, and how many years of our lives do you think would be cut short because of our actions and lifestyle?  We are not going to live forever as we all know, but why in the world do we continue to kill ourselves with an avoidable addiction?

Everyone knows what these addictions can and will do to us, but no one knows exactly when.  It could be that our health fails.  It could be that we were involved in a automobile accident that may have disabled us forever or possibly kill us or an innocent person or persons.

When should we take action on these addictions we have before it is too late?  What has to happen to us before we realize we are doing wrong by abusing our bad habits, whether it be drinking alcohol or using drugs? 

In my personal experience with drinking alcohol, and drinking it for many years, I have learned that my life was going no where fast.  Everything I wanted to do, or a dream I might of had always seemed to peter out because I would stumble upon a road block in my quest of doing something and just simply gave up. 

I had no self-esteem and no positive attitude in my life while being addicted to alcohol.  I thought, as probably many alcoholics do that everyone in the world is wrong and the alcoholic is right, meaning, we the alcoholic thinks we are doing no wrong and we do not have an addiction to alcohol.  We live in denial each and everyday, but really have no idea that we are.  I called it , "blinded by my addiction."

How to take action is very simple and how I did it was to simply make up my mind and told myself, "enough is enough" it is time to surrender to my addiction to alcohol and start to live a clean and sober life again.I changed my attitude and my outlook on life and told myself, " my life is worth far more to me than an avoidable and foolish addiction.  My life is precious and I only have one of them so I better make the best of the time I have left here on earth."

When is the time to take action depends on each person, and just how depended they are on their drug of choice.  If you think you have a problem with alcohol or drugs then I would recommend sitting down and take a good look at your life, what you are doing to your one and only body and what effects you are having on your \families lives as well.  Just maybe if you care about our self and your family you will begin to see the light that being addicted to anything has no positive results whatsoever.

Without taking action in anything in life you will remain stuck where you are for the rest of your life and never be able to enjoy what life has to offer, (seeing it with sober eyes.)

1. Think positive.
2. Stay focused on getting sober and staying sober.
3. Believe in yourself and God.
4. Never let anything or anybody get in your way to becoming sober.
5. Steer clear of your alcoholic friends to avoid temptation to drink or use.
6. Ask for the HELP you need to start you on your road to recovery.
7. Don't be embarrassed or a shamed of your addiction and tell everyone you are surrendering to it.
8. Keep yourself busy so that you have no time to think about your past addiction.
9. Eat well and healthy foods.
10. Drink lots of water and drinks that are healthy which will help in flushing those toxins out of your system.

These are just a few things I did when I decided to get clean and sober and maybe you will find some things that will help you and add them to my list.

* I am not a Doctor or Therapist by no means, but I do have experience in drinking and abusing alcohol with makes me a professional in that part !

Sobriety is a wonderful thing.  I just wished I would of surrendered years ago when my children were growing up, but as they say, "better later than never."

God Bless all those that are struggling with an addiction, and remember, you are not alone.  Never give up on yourself.  You can and will get clean and sober as I did.  The big thing is taking ACTION,  having the WILLPOWER, DETERMINATION and the DESIRE to get sober and stay sober, and it will happen.

How A Positive Attitude Helps With Staying Sober

Many of us that are addicted to alcohol sometimes have a hard time keeping a positive attitude in our everyday living.  I for one was one of those people until I tried my luck a being sober.

Once I surrendered to my addiction to alcohol I found out just how a positive attitude helps with staying sober.  I have written many articles on HubPages.com on alcohol addiction, my life with alcohol, and just how I was able to surrender to my inner demons and be able to stay sober.

When we are addicted, not only to alcohol, but any sort of substance that can harm us and hinder our lives the way the addiction wants to, we tend to be a bit negative in our ways of living.  Most of us loss our self esteem and just let our addiction start to run and ruin our lives a little bit at a time until our addiction drives us right to rock bottom.

I caught my addiction pretty much before hitting rock bottom just by a hair.  I was on the verge of losing everything.  My home, my wife and my family if I didn't do something about my addiction to alcohol fast.

I first sat down alone and started to think of all the positive thing there were in drinking alcohol and came up with nothing, but it got me drunk.  I then thought of all the negative things of drinking alcohol and came up with many, such as:

• Physical appearance has changed.
• Weight gain.
• Loss of interest in things I once loved to do.
• Started to steer away from family and friends.
• Wanted to drink alone.
• Thought about the end of my work day to open that first beer.
• Never went anywhere unless there was alcohol served.

If any of these sound familiar to you, maybe you should sit down as I did and think of just how alcohol is ruining your life and the ones that love and care about you, such as you spouse and family.

So, once I got out of the denial I lived in and began to start thinking positive thoughts I began to plan my new life and got myself ready for the change of my life once and for all. 

I wanted to be clean and sober in worse way , but I was afraid of how my body would react without alcohol in it and in my life.  i had put my sobriety on hold for too long and it was time to change my life around.

I started by thinking positive as I said earier and continued to tell myself that I can and I will overcome my addiction to alcohol.  I would do anything to get sober and stay sober.

I made a promise to myself two years ago, that if I surrendered to my addiction and became sober I would never be able to pick up an alcoholic drink again for the rest of my life.  Once I was fine with that promise to myself then it was time to pick my start date and begin my recovery from the addiction that had run my life for so many years.

Having a positive attitude in life no matter if it is surrendering to an addiction or anything in life that you want  to do it will happen.  Remember, negative thoughts give negative results and Positive thought and attitude give positive results.  I know for a fact that haviing that positive attitude helped me so much and still does keeping me sober.

i write these articles and Hubs in hopes that it will help someone out in the world that is suffering with an addiction and to tell then to never give up hope of getting and staying sober.  It is all what you want out of the one and only life you have, so don't mess it up with poor health, car accidents or any foolish thing that alcohol makes you do or does to you.  If you believe and truly want sobriety back into your life you WILL be able to achieve it.

How To Find Sobriety And Stay Sober

Wanting and finding sobriety can be difficult for many that are addicted to alcohol, but it is not impossible.  For myself, living in a addicted world of alcoholism was a tough life in some ways , but in other ways I learned a lesson, the lesson of life and just how much life is worth when you come to close to losing everything in it.

Sobriety was the last thing I ever thought I would find, because I was so addicted to alcohol that it was a huge part of my everyday life.  As I became older and wiser I realized that what I was doing not only to myself, but everyone that was a part of my life was wrong and certainly unhealthy in every aspect of my addiction to alcohol.

I was hurting so many people in my life and never even realized it because I was living in that little world we all call denial.  I never saw the damage and the hurt I put on people that loved and cared for me because I was blinded by my addiction to alcohol.

I wanted sobriety so bad but I always wondered how to find sobriety and stay sober.  In time all those thoughts started to take shape and it was time to take action on my actions.  too be able to stop drinking alcohol and start to live a normal life and enjoy all those that loved and cared for me. 

    













Back in October 2009 I finally surrendered to my inner demons and began to plan my new clean and sober life.  I stopped drinking alcohol and when I took that last drink I had to promise myself that if i were to be successful in my sobriety I must never pick up another alcohol drink again for the rest of my life.  Once I was fine with this promise to myself I began to keep my mind and body so busy that not a thought came about in my mind about drinking alcohol.

Don't get me wrong, in the beginning it was tough beings I drank alcohol everyday of the week for years, but by staying busy and writing about alcoholism keeps me sober. As each day and week passed it became easier and easier to deal with the absence of alcohol in my body.   My intent and my main goal in life than, and still is, is to spread the word to the world that anything is possible when you think it isn't, including finding your sobriety.

Life is wonderful now and if I would of known just how great life was being clean and sober then I would of quit drinking alcohol years ago, but the problem would of been, I wasn't ready to surrender to my addiction at that time.  You must want it and be okay with never drinking alcohol again (forever) and when that time can in my life everything just started to fall in place.  It fell in place because I was ready to be sober and live a life of sobriety, something I hadn't had for many many years in my life.

It has been 1 1/2 years since my last drink of alcohol and I have to say it has been the best 1 1/2 years of not only my life, but the rest of my families life as well.  The alcoholic seems to forget that the addiction to alcohol not only hurts themselves , but everyone that is close to the alcoholic such as your wife and children.

It had taken a lot of strength, determination, willingness and to come clean and sober, but it was really worth every bit of hard work to find my sobriety.  You too can do the same as I did if you truly want sobriety back into your life as I did.


Don't ever give up on yourself and always believe in yourself and know that what ever you set out to do in life you will be successful including finding your sobriety and staying sober forever.

Feel free to see My Store at Zazzle for some clothing and accessories on Living Life Sober.

Admitting That You Are An Alcoholic Is A Step In The Right Direction

One of the very first things in being able to achieve your sobriety is admitting that you are an alcoholic.

By admitting you are an alcohol is a step in the right direction in finding your sobriety and start to live a clean and sober life again.

In my personal opinion and my personal experiences with being addicted to alcohol is that admitting you are an alcoholic is somewhat a hard thing to admit or to swallow. The word seems so harsh, but it is the truth whether you want to admit it or not.

For myself and many alcoholics out in the world today, we all have a problem admitting that we have a addiction to alcohol and we tend to live in our own little world of denial. I know that I lived in denial for many of years and never wanted to admit I truly had an addiction to alcohol no matter who or what was said to me regarding my addiction to alcohol.

I can honestly say, I never thought I had any problem whatsoever. That my friends is truly living in denial, somewhere I never want to be again.

In October 2009, I finally saw the light and finally realize I was an addicted to alcohol for the first time in my life. What came over me one night change my life forever.

I was sitting in my garage drinking my beer all alone as usual, when all of the sudden a voice can into my head. I heard the voice of God and him giving me a second chance in life. Now it was up to me me to listen and obey or ignore the voice and continue down the road to self destruction.

Or course, I listened to my God as he spoke with a calm and serene whisper in my head. He was given me a chance to get out of the denial that I was in and given my a second chance at life before it would be too late. I never experienced anything like this in my life. This whisper from God changed my life forever and I have been clean and sober since that night in October 2009.



It takes a real strong person to be able to admit that he/she is an alcoholic and when they finally admit it, they also ask for the help they will need to get their lives back to sobriety and start living a clean and sober again.

So, I you think you might be addicted to alcohol, take that first step and admit it to yourself and get out of the denial you have lived in for so long. You won't be sorry, believe me, I admitted I was addicted to alcohol and I did something about so that I may live a longer and healthier life.

The voice of God has stood by my side each and everyday giving me the strength and the willpower to stay sober. Taking each day one at a time is the best thing I could have done. I used to count the hours and then days being sober and look now, I am counting the years. I have been sober for a year and one half and it seems like it has only been a few months.

You will see for yourself that your life will improve in every aspect as you stay clean and sober. For me, my life is just about perfect now. My marriage is wonderful, when before, I would say it was ready to hit rock bottom, as I was, if I didn't stop drink alcohol.

Give sobriety a chance, and give your own life a second chance at living a clean and sober life, you won't be sorry.

How to Stop Drinking Alcohol

Have you ever wondered why some many people go overboard when it comes to drinking alcohol? Sure, we all want to have a great time when we are out and about with our family or friends, but where do we draw the line between having fun and getting drunk?

We all know how to drink alcohol, but do we really know how to stop drinking alcohol? This will be a question we will always ask ourselves throughout time.

Alcohol is everywhere in our society today and so many are becoming addicted each and everyday, unfortunately.

As young people start on their way in life, many think that drinking alcohol is the cool thing to do in order to impress their peers. Little do they know by starting to drink at such a early age some will become a prisoner of the bottle. The tolerance to alcohol will become greater as they continue to drink and party away like it was their last day on earth, and for some, unfortunately, it very well may be.

What I learned through my experiences with alcohol and being addicted to it was that my attitude and outlook on life was pretty negative which kind of made me feel worthless. So, what did I do? I opened another beer figuring this would be the fix all of all my problems.

Alcohol will never fix anything in life, it only makes things thousand time worse than they really are. Many people turn to alcohol in hopes that their problem will just vanish, and yes it may vanish when the person is in the drunkin state of mind. They forget about their problem, but only for a short time while drinking. Once the drinking binge stops the problem still is there the next day.

When you finally admit that you have an alcohol addiction you must then make up your mind to surrender to it. As hard as it sounds it can be done.
Many of people are basically afraid to quit drinking do to the fear of living with out their crutch.

They may worry about alcohol withdraw and everything that may go with quitting an addiction. We can not let those thing stand in our way of sobriety.

Here is a few tips that helped my become clean and sober.

* First I changed my attitude from negative to positive in everything.

* I looked at the pros and cons of drinking verses sobriety.

* I basically looked at my life as it was in all areas including the
effects it had on my family and their lives.

* I made a promise to myself to never pick up a drink again for the rest of
my life, no matter what happens that may give me the urge to drink.

* I prayed to our Lord God for the help and strength to be able conquer
this addiction once and for all.

* I had to leave behind some of my drinking buddies that were a bad
influence on me, and kept myself from things that may have given me the
given me the urge to drink.

* I keep myself busy not only physically, but mentally as well. I had to
keep my mind away from thinking about drinking

If you want to quit drinking alcohol you must first surrender and keep a positive attitude throughout the rest of your life. You must have the willingness and pure desire to become sober. You must learn to love yourself more and give your life a second chance to live.

Some folks my need Professional Help with entering a Rehab Center where they will get the tools needed to become clean and sober and in a safe manner.

Keep focused on what you have set out to do, and believe me, with some work on your part everything will fall into place, and before you know it, your life will be what it should be, and that is living sober, healthy and longer. BELIEVE AND YOU WILL ACHIEVE Click Here"

Drinking Beer

Oh yes, the hot and steaming days of summer. One can not wait for that ice cold frosted mug of beer after a hard days work.

Why do most people go for the beer after working in the heat,or for some of us,just for the heck of it? Watching or going to a sports game we need to bring along our beer.

Having a picnic or outside party, what goes along with that, is beer. Going out on a boat for a nice afternoon cruise and the beer comes along with us.

We decide to go on a camping trip, so we pack the clothing that we will need for our trip. Get all the food and supplies ready to go. Get the tent or our camper packed up and don't forget the coolers for all the beer we will be drinking while camping and fishing.

Having a birthday party,wedding or even a First Communion, don't forget about putting the beer on the menu for all to enjoy. Beer seems to be a very popular thing to many of us when planing just about anything.

It seems to me that beer goes with just about everything in our everyday lives and seems to rank close to all the other things we need in life.

I was one that loved drinking my beer for many years too. It has that effect after so many. The effect that sometimes over powers our minds. Don't get me wrong beer is tasty after that day of work,and just sit down and crack that can or bottle open and that first sip tastes like drinking gold in a can.

There is nothing wrong with having a couple of beers after a hard days work or just chilling out watching a ball game with the guys, but some of us including myself just don't when to quit drinking. Starting out with just a couple beers then lead to a drinking frenzy.

Some of us just get carried away with the drinking and don't stop until the supply is gone. That's the problem with drinking alcohol whether being beer or spirits.

We all intend to have just a couple of drinks but as the day or night goes on the alcohol continues unless you have the willpower to call it quits for the day. Some people just don't know how to say to someone that they have had enough beer and call it quits for the day or evening.

Then there are those how yell out "hey grab me another one of those beers will you."

There is now harm having a couple of drinks, but you must learn when enough is enough and just drink reponsable. Don't ever forget DO NOT EVER DRINK AND DRIVE!