Oct 07 2008
Beyond 12 Step Recovery - Using Vision and Goals to Propel You to Success
How can recovering drug addicts use vision in their recovery?
By picturing the life that they really want for themselves, that’s how.
It is one thing to stay clean and sober. It is another thing entirely to enjoy a passionate life in recovery that is filled with purpose. Obviously, we want to do the latter of the two.
So how can we get there?
<h3>Finding your vision in recovery</h3>
I’m going to be honest with you here: I don’t think you should (or could) find your true vision for recovery during your first week of sobriety. If you just got through detoxing, then this is not the defining moment when you want to plan out the rest of your life.
Take your time. Ease back into life. If you just got sober, then you’ve been out of it for quite a while, and it’s going to take some time before you are ready to start enjoying your life again and figuring out what you really want. You can’t get sober today and then find peace and everlasting happiness tomorrow. It takes time to repair a life.
Having said that, you certainly can start thinking about your vision for recovery once the fog starts to lift and you start to feel your real emotions again. Many of us will stay sober and attend meetings and maybe have a sponsor, but eventually you have to ask yourself: “What do I really want out of life?”
When I was using drugs and alcohol in my active addiction, I already had the answer to that question. There was no issue there: I wanted to get high and stay high, all the time. Period. This idea resonated so strongly with me that it became a spiritual quest of sorts. It became my ultimate truth.
In recovery, you are going to need a new ultimate truth; a new quest. If you had true passion for using drugs and alcohol (and who didn’t?) then you are going to need to find true passion and purpose in recovery in order to stay clean and sober over the long haul.
<h3>What type of vision and goals can help me in my recovery?</h3>
Some people become deeply involved in 12 step programs such as AA or NA. This is fine, there is nothing wrong with it, and it can lead to a very good life in recovery. But if this is your ultimate solution, then you had better follow it with passion. You better get in there and get a good sponsor and truly work the steps to the best of your ability and eventually start sponsoring newcomers and so on. Don’t just sit in meetings and sip coffee and smoke cigarettes and share the same old tired slogans over and over again, while barely clinging to your sobriety through clenched teeth because your existence has become meaningless. It doesn’t have to be that way. 12 step programs are great as long as you pursue them with real passion.
Are there other ways to stay sober? Is there any other vision for a successful life in recovery?
Of course there is….I am living one such reality right now. Having been clean and sober for over 7 years now, I also push myself to grow in other areas of my life, and also reach out and help addicts and alcoholics in my own way. I consider this last point to be crucial, by the way, and suggest that everyone in recovery find a way to connect with other addicts. 12 step programs are not mandatory but they will certainly help facilitate making these connections.
I am not against 12 step programs, I’m merely pointing out that the overall vision for a new life in recovery should go beyond these types of programs. Recovery is so much bigger than that…it encompasses all aspects of your being, and can provide a springboard for growth in so many different areas. Use your creative vision to visualize and attain a new life for yourself in recovery.
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