Addiction recovery is a complicated journey from the moment a person steps into their first day of detox to maintaining their sobriety as a successful alumnus. However, such prolonged sobriety can be exceptionally difficult as each day brings new stresses, urges, and temptations to return to previous self-destructive behaviors. The road through sustained recovery is not a straight path, but rather a series of peaks and valleys that demand an individual be constantly vigilant of their own emotional state in order to maintain their hard-earned sobriety.
One key factor in navigating each and every day with sober goals in mind is reinforcing successes and creating a feeling of significance to one’s actions. Implementing a degree of success and significance in one’s daily routine is essential for cultivating a motivational mindset that can enable one to keep the sober goals and journey in perspective.
The Need for a Perspective of Success
Even prolonged recovery can feel disheartening at times. The constant emotional battles can take a mental toll, making it difficult to visualize and recognize one’s real successes in their recovery. Even a single difficult day after a year of sobriety can feel overwhelming, making the risk of slips and relapses more prevalent. Having a way to see one’s successes can be essential for the motivation and reinforcement needed to combat these detrimental ways of thinking.
While relentless positivity can produce its own problems, there is nothing wrong with taking objective pride in one’s successes. Even after a year of sobriety, making it through an entire week sober is still a major accomplishment.
One of the biggest threats to recovery is one’s emotions overshadowing their accomplishments. Focusing wholly on the negatives can blind an individual to their own strengths and accomplishments. Employing strategies to shape one’s perspective of themselves in a fair light is crucial for each battle ahead.
Journaling
Journaling is a common and extraordinarily effective strategy at all stages of addiction recovery. It can be a phenomenal outlet for those looking to process their emotions and express the stress of their urges in a more tangible form. Journaling can also allow an individual to look back on their own accomplishments.
Some days in recovery will be more difficult than others for any number of reasons. Additional stresses from the workplace, relationships, finances, and more can all be difficult to process. Being able to look back on one’s journey with addiction, however, can provide some great perspective. Not only can looking back on the trials one has already overcome be a motivational force on its own, but one can also see the change in their daily stresses.
While making it through a single day without succumbing to an urge was definitely a trial at the time, seeing one’s current abilities to deal with workplace stresses or establish boundaries shows how far a person has come in their recovery. Being able to contextualize one’s success in this way ensures that one is never far from the objective truth of their progress. Leafing through one’s journal on difficult days can reinforce this perspective and showcase one’s successes on their journey.
Rewarding Milestones
Rewarding milestones can also create a physical reminder of one’s successes and add significance to one’s actions. 12-Step medallions and chips are a great example of being able to hold one’s success in their hands as a reminder of their dedication and resilience in the face of a difficult recovery.
However, these sentimental and powerful objects can take several forms. For some, buying a reward for their milestones can be nearly anything–a photo album, a new television, poster, musical instrument, or materials for a new hobby can all be a part of this. As long as the rewards continue to carry the weight and meaning of their accomplishment, their existence can be a constant, daily reminder of one’s ability to overcome and persevere during the most difficult of times of one’s recovery. They can also add a feeling of significance and pride to one’s newfound lifestyle.
The Power of Fair Judgement
Being able to take pride in one’s accomplishments in recovery, feel like a contributing and significant member of a relationship or community, and reinforce objective successes are all powerful practices. However, they can be a recovery tool for more than just their motivational merits. Rather, when a person is able to feel good about themselves and their successes in recovery, it can become easier to judge oneself more objectively on their progress.
By fairly acknowledging the changes one has made, it can be easier to identify areas of one’s recovery where one may want to focus more heavily without feeling discouraged or belittled. Focusing on one’s recovery strategies and creating a healthy, ever-progressing outlook on one’s own future can help build feelings of empowerment, significance, and pride in one’s journey.
The ability to reinforce feelings of success and significance is paramount in maintaining a healthy and proactive relationship with your own recovery. At Everlast Recovery Centers, we understand the need to embrace the positive progress made while working to build upon vulnerabilities and weaknesses in recovery and champion the act of reinforcing daily success. Our home-like atmosphere is designed to help you relax and relate to peers by creating a supportive and encouraging environment where each person is a significant voice to be heard. Your time with us can be backed by personalized therapeutic approaches, including art and music therapy, yoga, and much more, all while establishing your new identity in our individual and group therapy sessions. For more information on how we can personalize your time with us or to speak to a caring, trained staff member about your unique needs and goals in recovery, call us today at (866) 338-6925.
