Many of us struggle to be able to appreciate our progress because we’re so accustomed to being hard on ourselves, judging ourselves harshly and criticizing our every move. When it comes to our recovery from addiction, we often tend to focus more on the mistakes and regrets of the past than we do on the changes we’ve made and the goals we’ve met. We see how far we have yet to go rather than appreciating just how far we’ve already come. We can be pessimistic and negative, not giving ourselves due credit for how hard we’ve been working. This tendency of ours to dwell on the past and to belittle our progress is actually more detrimental to our recovery than we might think. We might assume that the ways in which we’re thinking about ourselves and our recovery are pushing us and challenging us to do better, but they actually can hinder our progress and make us feel even worse about ourselves. As we’re working to recover, it might serve us more to be more self-loving and more positive, and to celebrate every single step of our recovery, no matter how small and insignificant it might seem.
Let’s use every sober day, every time we successfully withstand temptation and resist our drug of choice, every month we consistently keep up with our recovery program as a reason to celebrate ourselves. In the past, we might have associated celebration with wild partying, using our drug of choice, spending time with other addicts, or experimenting with new drugs. We might have gone on a binge, using even more than normal over a short period of time. We might also have been experiencing the manic high that can come before a depressive crash which can contribute to our increased drug use. Now that we’re actively working towards recovery, we can find new ways to celebrate that don’t detract from our sobriety. When we’re making note of our positive changes and our commitment to our sobriety, we can celebrate by doing things we love, spending time with our friends in recovery, and making time for self-care. We can allow ourselves to create new ways of having fun that don’t hurt us and hold us back. We can explore all the interests we might have been neglecting since addiction took hold of our lives. We can shift our perspective on celebration to be one of genuine fulfillment and enjoyment, as opposed to the addictive celebration that always left us feeling worse off the next day, hungover, ashamed and full of regret.
What do you love to do? What brings you excitement? What makes you happy? Let’s take time to explore these questions, because for so long we’ve been revolving our entire lives around our addictions. Our ideas of happiness, fun and enjoyment were based on our drugs of choice. We’ve forgotten who we are, let alone what we enjoy, because of our dependence issues and our self-destructiveness. A huge part of addiction recovery is rediscovering what brings us a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction in our daily lives, what makes us tick, and what makes our hearts sing. Let’s rediscover what makes us look forward to the next day, and what makes us eager to live life. We can use these things as our new means for celebration, to add to our overall happiness and well-being. When we do this, we increase our chances of a successful recovery, because the happier and more fulfilled we feel within ourselves, the more at peace we are and therefore the more likely we are to be able to commit to our recovery and withstand the pressure and temptation of drug use.
Let’s not wait to celebrate ourselves only when we’re reached a specific milestone or anniversary. Let’s not only celebrate when we think we’ve done enough, worked hard enough, pushed ourselves hard enough, or sacrificed enough. Every day we’re alive and committed to our recovery is a reason to celebrate. Every day we’re feeling good about ourselves is a reason to celebrate. Let’s celebrate every step of the way by affirming and validating ourselves and our progress. Let’s commend ourselves for every positive step we take. Let’s show ourselves love, appreciation and gratitude whenever we make a positive change. Let’s start thinking and speaking of ourselves and our progress differently. Instead of being so hard on ourselves, let’s uplift, encourage and motivate ourselves. When we’re able to do this, we give ourselves a greater chance of success in our recovery because we’re not constantly beating ourselves up and chipping away at our resolve and inner strength. Criticism and judgment can hurt us and add to our low self-esteem. We feel like we’re kicking ourselves when we’re down. We’re not bolstering our sense of self-worth or encouraging ourselves onward and upward. The ways in which we treat ourselves can cause us to become stagnant and to stop taking risks and challenging ourselves, because we’re afraid of our own self-judgment and self-rejection. Let’s instead be kind, patient and understanding with ourselves, and let’s take each and every positive step as an opportunity to celebrate just how far we’ve come.
The Guest House is a welcoming and supportive recovery home where you will be met with open arms, wherever where you are on your journey, without judgment or expectation. Call 855-483-7800 today for more information.