Self Discipline

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 15:46:41 +0100

Self discipline is an important part of recovery. Wikipedia defines self discipline as " the ability to motivate oneself in spite of a negative emotional state." In active addiction we are often in a constant negative emotional state. Self worth is generally non existent and addiction is overall emotionally draining. Even though you may have made the beautiful choice of not using and instead choosing recovery, the lifestyle you were leading doesn't just leave with the drugs. There is a whole lot of work to be done now that you've chosen recovery and most of it is pretty darn hard. Self discipline can help you accomplish your goals for your new drug free life.

Think about how it would feel to be able to follow through with your goals and good intentions no matter what. Imagine how much you could achieve! Maybe you've been unemployed for years and you want to go out and get a job, make your own money. Its easy to say to yourself "I'm going to go out and get a job", but harder to follow through and get out there to look for a job and fill out applications. Chances are you haven't had a stable schedule in a very long time. Some of us need to push ourselves just to start getting up early, showering and get ready for the day even if we have nothing to do. Its the process that matters. So without self discipline, you'll probably keep telling yourself you need to get a job but won't be very pro-active about it. With self discipline however, you can get up, get out and get that job!

Now you've decided you need to build your self discipline, so how do you do it? Start choosing to work on challenges that you can overcome. I'm going to focus on using self discipline to form a new morning routine. As I mentioned before, maybe your morning routine leaves a lot to be desired. Start to envision what you want your morning routine to look like. Lets say you've been sleeping until noon, rolling out of bed onto the couch and watching tv for a few hours before actually getting up and out. First things first, you need to start getting up earlier. Tell yourself: "I'm going to get up at 11 for the next 2 days." You're much more likely to wake up at 11 as opposed to waking up at 7 am. After you get through the 2 days at 11 am, go for 10 am and so on until you're waking up at your goal time. Now decide what you want to do after you wake up. Take a shower, brush your teeth, wash your face. Something to kick start your morning. Since we're looking for a job, taking a walk in the morning to pick up a newspaper is a great thing to add to your pro active morning routine. Again, you don't have to transform your routine in one day. Work on putting it together piece by piece so as not to get discouraged. Each piece you connect will be another increase in your self discipline and you'll start to feel better about yourself too!

Choosing Recovery

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 20:52:08 +0100

If you are suffering in your active addiction choosing recovery may seem like and impossible decision to make. Your addiction will convince you everything is just fine the way it is. It probably seems like picking up the pieces of your life is just too hard to do. After all, the pieces are scattered all over the place. I know that's what my addiction had me believing. I was broke, unemployed and living in my car with not a single friend or family member in sight. There were so many pieces to pick up and put back together that I just didn't believe I could ever find them all. Then I thought, "Well even if I do, I'll never get them all to fit together again." Well here I am, years later, in recovery and advancing minute by minute in my personal development and I've never been happier. I'm living a fulfilling life, coming closer and closer to finding my life purpose and helping as many people as I can along the way.

Making the decision to choose recovery is the first and most important step in leaving your addiction behind. Often times its also the hardest one. Just the thought of having to return to "real life and face the music" is horrifying. We tend to focus on everything we've screwed up and everyone we've let down. Instead, you should focus on YOU. Take in everything about your situation. The first step to to road of recovery is accepting your current situation. Once you accept that you're in a bad place, you have to realize that the only person you have to blame is yourself. No one forced you into your addiction, you chose it. You have to accept full responsibility for yourself and where you are. Not 75% or even 99%. You can't say "Ok yes, I put myself in this situation, but I wouldn't have if .....". That's not going to work. Taking responsibility is hard to do, but you won't truly be able to move forward if you're not ready to do it.

You've accepted your situation and taken responsibility for it. Now take action. Choose an achievable goal. Set yourself up to succeed, not to fail. Maybe you use your drug of choice 10 times a day. Today use 9 times, tomorrow try 8 and so on. Find a group to go to, whether its NA, AA or any support group, just go. Maybe you're showering only 2 times per week, do it 3 times per week then 4 and keep going. These goals, however small they may seem will help to bring your confidence back and begin to bring you back in touch with yourself. If you get to a group you'll see that even though you may not have your friends or family right now, there are still people who will listen to you and support you. Setting goals that you're not ready to achieve will only drag you down further when you don't achieve them.

Now if you're sitting here today completely at rock bottom and you've had enough, by all means jump right onto the path of recovery. If you feel the power inside of you to just stop right here, right now you CAN! As you take control of your life back you'll begin to feel a little stronger everyday. Those small steps will bring you closer and closer to recovery and the fulfilling life you deserve.

So today: Accept, Take Responsibility and Take Action! Recovery is only a step away!

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Self Discipline

Choosing Recovery