Gorilla Fighting

“Success is a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don’t quit when you’re tired. You quit when the gorilla is tired.” Robert Strauss.

The mental image of “gorilla fighting” may make you smile a little, but this sentiment is so relevant to addiction that I couldn’t resist sharing it.

I don’t have a lot of personal experience with hand-to-hand combat with primates, but like the thought of wrestling a 5oo-pound gorilla, recovery IS incredibly exhausting. As you struggle to resist temptation, make better choices, establish a healthier lifestyle, and rewire your brain there are many times that you may be tempted to give up. It just seems so hard.

When those inevitable thoughts come, think of that gorilla. If you, in your exhaustion, give up and stop fighting back, the angered primate will quickly overtake you. Trying to ignore him or live with him will not be successful. Ultimately the hairy beast will do  irreparable damage to you.

The gorilla of the addiction is no different. By its very nature, it is aggressive and strong-willed. It doesn’t give up easy, but if you stay in the fight and find people to assist you in your battle, it WILL lose its strength and you WILL be able to subdue it.

“Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” —1 Timothy 6:11-13