Accentuate Your Personal Positives
If you had to describe yourself in three words, what would those words be?
Were you tempted to choose some negative words? Maybe so. So let us be more specific: If you had to give your inner critic the day off and then describe yourself in three positive words, what would those positive words be?
We hope this was a pretty easy exercise and that three positive words came to mind quickly. It is always a good idea to remind yourself of your strengths and qualities about yourself that you like. Building up your self-esteem supports your sobriety, after all.
But it can also be a good idea to identify other traits that can serve you well in recovery. Maybe these are traits you already have but could strengthen with some dedication and effort. Maybe these are traits you do not currently have in your personal toolkit. In either case, acquiring and building up qualities that support your sobriety can be a powerful plan.
To that end, we have three suggestions for characteristics that can serve you well in recovery.
Be Grateful
When taking stock of our lives, it can be tempting to tally up all the challenges and disappointments rather than focusing on positives (just like it can be tempting to describe ourselves with negative rather than positive words). But the old exhortation to “count your blessings” is a much better idea when it comes to supporting your sobriety.
One strategy for keeping gratitude at the forefront of your attitude is to keep a gratitude journal. Writing down three things you are grateful for each day is a great way to remind yourself of the good things in your life—and it creates a record you can look back on when you are struggling and need a boost. Whether you use a physical journal or an online tool (which can be appealing because you can include photos), keeping a gratitude journal is an easy but powerful way to support your sobriety.
Be Gutsy
Recovery can sometimes involve trying something new—and trying something new is sometimes intimidating. But what you were doing before—using drugs or alcohol—was decidedly not working for you. So it is only reasonable that you will have to try new things as a part of your recovery.
Being gutsy can mean any number of things. It can mean sharing for the first time at a 12-Step (or other recovery program) meeting. It can mean confidently turning down alcohol in a social setting. It can mean taking steps to remove toxic people from your life. It can even mean simply being willing to ask for help when you need it.
Make no mistake: It takes guts to do what it takes to stay sober. Cultivating gutsiness is a good plan for your recovery.
Be Goal-Oriented
Of course, recovery is built around one essential goal: Stay sober.
But that doesn’t have to be your only goal. Or to think of it another way, you can set any number of goals that will help you accomplish your overall sobriety goal.
For example, you could set a goal to eat a more balanced and healthy diet. Good nutrition supports your sobriety, so your goals around eating serve your larger goal. You could, similarly, commit to making improvements related to exercise or sleep (or both), and those goals will also serve your larger goal of staying sober.
Setting achievable goals in any area of life can give a boost to your motivation, your outlook on life, and on your ability to maintain your sobriety. So don’t be afraid to set challenges for yourself. Pursuing healthy goals aligns perfectly with pursuing long-term sobriety.
Be Glad for Wooded Glen
A substance use disorder can upend pretty much every aspect of your life, and it can feel as though you simply cannot find a path to sobriety. But the good news is that help is always available.
At Wooded Glen Recovery Center in Indiana, we offer medically supervised detoxification to help you withstand the rigors of withdrawal. We follow detox with a robust rehabilitation program that includes both group and individual therapy. During rehab, we are also able to address co-occurring mental health disorders including depression, anxiety, or a disorder grounded in trauma. And when residential treatment comes to end, we provide a continuum of care designed to ensure you can start your recovery journey with confidence and a spirit of optimism.