Tag: life

  • Preparation

    Have you ever tried putting together IKEA furniture? There are so many pieces that it would be damn near impossible without instructions; however instructions alone won’t get the job done, you also have to have tools.

    Tools and instructions are like preparation. You have to have those items to complete the job, without them the job would be seemingly impossible and more complicated. What job do you have coming up? Are you prepared? Do you have the instructions and tools needed to complete the job?

  • Go get it!

  • Time

    As I look towards my birthday tomorrow time seems to be on my mind. We tend to take time for granted. We think we have enough of it. We procrastinate like time will wait for us. We say tomorrow or the next day like it’s guaranteed.

    Yet time is the one thing we can’t control, we can’t stop it and we can’t change it. As I think about time today, I am grateful for the time I have had; sometimes good and sometimes bad.

    Nevertheless I look forward to more time. More time with my children and hopefully grandchildren one day, time with my husband and time doing the things that give me purpose.

  • What’s next?

    Some of us are asking ourselves this question. New year and we want to start fresh, but what’s next? New job, new home, new relationship? Maybe you are new to sobriety and you have decided that this year you will do it and stick with it this time. This time will be different than the previous 20, 10 or 5 times you tried before, but what’s next?

    After you have made the decision to stop and you have taken the first step you have to keep doing the work. Going to support group meetings, avoiding the people, places and things that trigger a relapse and giving yourself grace. Everyday will not be butterflies and rainbows. Some days you will lack motivation. Some days you will struggle. Some days will be hard, but keep going because you will never know what’s next if you throw in the towel.

  • The end of the year

    As we are in the last week of 2025, most of us have a vision or idea of what we want the next year to look like. Those “new year resolutions” that so many of us make year after year. It does feel good to think of life getting better, finances growing and relationships improving.

    New year, new you is the motto right? Great! Do it! Live it! Imagine it! Become it! Nothing is stopping you, but you. Go after that thing, that person, that job!

    But before this year ends give gratitude for making it through, for being sober, for being strong in your recovery, for having another day, another hour, another minute to be here; some didn’t make it, but you did.

  • Just keep going!

  • Disappointments

    In life there will be disappointments; sometimes within your control, but most times you won’t have control. How you navigate these disappointments determine your fate. If you crash out with every disappointment then life will be challenging, but if you take disappointments in stride you will flourish.

    It’s important that you give yourself grace when disappointments happen, especially if you tried your hardest and put your best foot forward. For instance, say you have been sober for 45 days and on day 46 there is a death that causes you to relapse and have that drink you have been trying to avoid for weeks. It’s ok to kick yourself, but it’s equally important to forgive yourself.

    There will always be disappointments, but will you let disappointments define who you are or will you have the victory and overcome them?

  • Strength

    It takes strength and determination to obtain and maintain abstinence. It takes more than just stopping usage. It takes more than just staying away from other in active addiction.

    As you go through your recovery journey it is important to reduce the chances of relapse by staying away from others in active addiction, staying involved in life through working, going to school, starting a hobby, going to church, attending support group meetings or whatever that thing is that you do to keep your mind occupied.

    One thing that most people don’t talk about is inner strength. Often we think of strength as a physical thing, but in recovery it is more mental than physical. It takes mental strength to stay the course. Temptations are all around from the restaurant to the grocery store if you are in recovery from alcohol or from the skate park to the convenience store if you are in recovery from illicit drugs.

    The cravings, the urges, the withdrawal symptoms all take mental grit and strength. The ability to remain sober with so many options and ways to use makes people that are able to remain abstinent real life superheroes! Yes, you are a superhero!

  • Results

    Did using drugs give you the result you wanted? Did being high really solve any of your problems? Did spending your rent, food or gas money on drugs help keep you housed, put food in your belly or get you where you needed to go? Unfortunately we don’t ask ourselves these questions before we make decisions.

    We keep making the same choices and expecting different results (which is insanity- inability to think and behave in ways considered to be normal and rational). We keep telling ourselves that this time will be different; this time will be the last time, and then we do it again.

    If we change our perspective as to how we make decisions, then we can make better decisions. For example: you feel like you deserve a raise at work and you have a decision to make. You have 3 choices: complain and keep your same pay, speak to the person or persons that make wage decisions or leave the company. All three will give you results, but only one will actually give you the result you want at that company.

    You save yourself undue stress, anxiety and frustration by making decisions based on the result you want. You set yourself up for success. You gets results!

  • Showing Up

    What does showing up look like? This weekend I accompanied my husband to a Next Level Speakers Academy California Chapter Event. This was my first time attending. They had a guest speaker, refreshments, participant rapid fire (speaking for 2 minutes on a topic of their choice), question/answer segment and photo opportunities.

    I was rather surprised, as I am a harsh critic. I am a glass half empty type of person. I did not attend the first event my husband invited me too because I figured this was his thing, his community.

    I learned that showing up is not just about what I think it is. Showing up means supporting those that you love and care about in the way they need you to, even if that doesn’t fit your model. I learned sometimes showing up literally means showing up.