Joe Nerv

...and I've been adding social, since social health is a big part of our general health. Social health is talked about in the first chapter of any health book you crack open, and it's one the of the areas I believe many alcoholics are MOST unhealthy in. It's the reason I started drinking, anyhow. For lack of a better term, I was a social ******. Alcohol helped at first, but once it got a hold of me the damage in all 4 areas became exponential. I could no longer function, and I was dying physically too.

While the whole physical, mental, spiritual thing comes out of AA literature, I really believe this applies to all humans, and it is my opinion that to be happy sober people, we need to gain and maintain health in all these areas. I also believe that we all have a spiritual component to our beings, and that has nothing to do with whether or not we believe in god or any kind of higher power.

Sooo... this is actually a prelude to what I really wanted to post about. And before I post what I really want to post about I want to add that AA helped me with the social aspect of health as much as any of the others. AA gave me a place to feel comfortable being the oddball that I am. They dragged me out to diners, forced me into uncomfortable situation that I wanted no part of (dances, parties, retreats, etc), and well... nursed me, in many ways, back to a socially healthy being.

Today is the first day of my summer vacation, and I'm incredibly excited about that. Started the morning with a run in the park. While running I thought about my plan for the day. I thought too how I might do something for each of the areas above, just for today, and maybe start making a habit of that. What I came up with was this....

Physical: Ran this morning, may even do some weight lifting this afternoon. Plan to eat really well today also. No processed sugar, low on the carbs, lots of fruits and veggies, and may even go for a vegan day (I'm vegetarian, not vegan though).

Spiritual: I already read from a daily word book I like (from Unity). Will read it over and over throughout the day as it doesn't stick unless I do that. I plan to pray and meditate after the shower I'm going to take in about 20 minutes.

Mental: I have work I need to get done today. I'm going to organize it, journal about it, and dive into it for at least an hour. Will also read from a positive book I've been revisiting. Going to a "feelings" AA meeting tonight. Not my typical meeting, as I usually only go to BB and step meetings, but this one is intimate and I like the people there.

Social: Already spoke with a friend on the phone this morning. And I will see some friends I haven't seen in a while at the meeting tonight. May head out to a diner with some of them, or go for a drive and a chat.

These are the things that keep me sane . If ya feel like making a plan for yourself, or have any thoughts regarding this, by all means please contribute here.

Das all. Have a great day everyone.

desypete

your bang on the button again joe
that is indeed a good plan for daily living

my day is get up and my first thing i do normaly is have a cup of tea and ponder what i have to do today
i then will text some aa friends and my sponsor and any new comers i might be helping at the time i will check how there doing

if i am not working like i am not today i know i will be out to a meeting tonight so i will go off shopping for the home and my kids or dam well cut the grass as i still dont like doing that job after 10 years but i still have to do things i dont like doing : )

its just daily living and its a simple life for me these days

as for healthy foods and going for some excerise i am a bit of a slob for that lol

i work 4 nights of the week and i do long hours each night from 12 to 15 hours so i enjoy my time off very much so

but again its just normaly simple living each day i dont like drama anymore but can still be drawn into it at times but thats ok as i learn and i am still learning

so i do look after my spirit inside of me by thinking of others

mental side is just coping with my day tending to jobs that need to be done and getting them done and also doing things i dont want to do lol

social aa is my social life i dont have many friends outside of aa but i have plenty of work mates who are friends but not on the same level as i do with my aa friends such as you joe i could tell you anything about me that i couldnt really walk up and say to someone outside of aa

so its a simple life today for me i dont think about drink its not a problem for me today at all
but i do have to put in the work and effort needed to stick to my daily living

edit just as i clicked send on this message
my sons have decided they want dad to take them out for a steak dinner : ) that will cost me !!!!
i wonder if this new way of living will stop me from moaning about how much it costs ? : )

Boudicca

Have a great day yourself, Joe! I love the idea of separating our dayplans into mental, physical, spiritual categories.
Thank you for giving me something to think about and offering a concrete tool for maintaining sobriety.

Jupiters

Thanks Joe - I really needed to read this today. I'm struggling a bit and have never really thought about breaking it down in such terms and applying small things to each category. what a great idea!
This is something I am definitely going to start doing!

Joe Nerv

Hey, took me 30 years to think up that one .

Jupiters

better late then never right?

jdooner

Thanks Joe:

Physical: Swam this morning - 2K yds of drills with my coach 45 min. Tennis match tonight at 6:30PM for two hours. Fasted for breakfast due to a blood exam for life insurance and the examiner canceled, so just grabbed a mixed green salad with chicken, shrimp, pears, onions, balsamic - it was what came ot mind with many choices.

Spiritual: Swimming is also spiritual for me. I plan to meditate before bed for 27 minutes.

Mental: I made a to do list and am going down the list - getting sidetracked with SR today.

Social: Texted my brother, trying to recoonect. Spoke with collegaues. A friend just relasped that is in need of some help. He used to work at my Firm. Also, connecting with people on SR I include as social.

desypete

lol keep coming back joe
who knows what the next 30 years will bring : )

PurpleKnight

Great post!!

NoJimmy

Excellent post Joe. I used booze so long socially I was at a loss how to behave without it. The first 60 days sober I worked, worked out and went to meetings like a robot. Somewhere between 60 and 90 days I felt a strong urge to reconnect socially. It's pretty natural for me to socialize sober now, but it took quite a bit of effort in the beginning.