101 Tools for Sobriety I came across this recently.. thought it could help some people. 1. Stay away from that first drink/drug 2. Attend AA/NA regularly 3. Use the 24-hour plan 4. Remember that your illness is incurable,progressive, and fatal 5. Do first things first 6. Don't become too tired 7. Eat a balanced diet at regular hours 8. Find a sponsor 9. Use the telephone 10. Be active- don't sit around 11. Use the serenity prayer 12. Change old routines and patterns 13. Don't become too hungry 14. Practice control of your anger 15. Avoid loneliness 16. Air your resentments 17. Be willing to help wherever needed 18. Be good to yourself. You deserve it. 19. Easy does it 20. Get out of the "if only" trap 21. Remember how it was, how it really was 22. Beware of emotional extremes(positive or negative emotions) 23. Help another in recovery 24. Try to turn your will over to your higher power 25. Avoid all mood changing drugs 26. Turn loose of old ideas 27. Avoid drinking/using occasions 28. Replace old drinking/using "buddies" with new AA/NA buddie 29. Read the Big Book/Blue Book 30. Try not to be dependent 31. Be graceful 32. Get off the "pity pot" 33. Seek knowledgeable help 34. Face that you are powerless over alcohol/drugs 35. Try the twelve steps of recovery 36. Let Go and Let God 37. Keep an open mind 38. Find the courage to change through the example of others who have done so 39. Don't try to test your will power 40. Try honesty 41. Live today, not yesterday, not tomorrow 42. Remember: alcohol/drugs are cunning,baffling, and powerful 43. Be humble 44. Rejoice in the manageability of your life 45. Share your experience, strength, and hope 46. Cherish your recovery 47. Dump your garbage regularly 48. Get plenty of restful sleep 49. Stay sober for yourself, not anybody else 50. Progress is made one day at a time 51. Develop an attitude of gratitude 52. Accept the fact that you don't take that first drink 53. Think about those you have harmed 54. Make amends where possible 55. Take a daily inventory of yourself 56. Avoid self-righteousness 57. Put aside jealousy 58. Meditate 59. Share your happiness 60. Respect other's anonymity 61. Be responsible 62. Do not judge: yourself or others 63. Avoid nostalgic sadness 64. Don't place conditions on your recovery 65. Don't dwell on the "Good ol' times", they weren't that good 66. Seek God's will for you 67. Listen 68. Keep It Simple. 69. Admit when you are wrong 70. Beware of complacency 71. Have faith 72. Avoid gossip 73. Laugh 74. When you feel shaky, call another person in recovery 75. Replace guilt and remorse with forgiveness 76. Share your pain, don't keep it in 77. Recognize and correct your shortcomings 78. Carry the message of AA/NA 79. Use your sponsor 80. Practice "I am responsible for my recovery" 81. Take suggestions 82. Beware of phoniness in yourself 83. Think positive 84. Put your own welfare first 85. Believe in a power greater than yourself 86. Make a searching and fearless moral inventory of yourself 87. Share your inventory with someone you trust 88. Seek peace of mind- chaos is dangerous 89. Don't "put down" anyone, including yourself 90. Accept life as it comes 91. Don't take another person's inventory 92. Develop self-restraint 93. Don't fear change, embrace it 94. Remember your last drug/drunk 95. Think the drink through, play the tape through 96. Beware of self-deception 97. Look upon problems as challenges, lessons, and gifts 98. Take life a day, an hour, even a minute at a time 99. Beware of lying 100. Do the right thing, even when nobody's looking 101. Remember that your worst day sober is always better than your best day drinking/using. This may not be helpful to everyone. You may not take to the text related to God/Higher Powers, but take from this what you will.. Remember some of these may help you in the long run. Even if this helps one person out there in recovery or considering recovery, it was worth the time I took to type it :) |
Not a bad list at all. Thanks for taking your time to type this out. |
Yes , Yes , and Yes. Thanks for the post. :) |
No problem, friends! This is actually a list given to my fiance by his counselor. I felt obligated to pass on the wisdom because though I am no longer an active addict, this has helped me a lot. |
Originally Posted by illbewaiting
(Post 3338531)
No problem, friends! This is actually a list given to my fiance by his counselor. I felt obligated to pass on the wisdom because though I am no longer an active addict, this has helped me a lot. |
Great list; its a keeper. Thanks for sharing. |
I personally never used NA or any other meetings, and my fiance is opposed to them because they are so strongly linked to spiritual beliefs, which he is not. My recovery was based upon pure will power and the want/need to do better things with my life. I did what(in my experience) I've seen very few people do.. I woke up one day, I had my "last dance with my demon".. and decided it was time to stop. It wasn't the life I wanted to lead and I saw myself getting worse with each day. I'm not going to say I never had a relapse, because I did, but it was short lived. I relapsed once and never, ever turned back. I was convinced I was going to die it I kept going down that path, and that's probably what ultimately got me out. Now I've got a life I wouldn't trade for anything. I take the good with the bad, and I thank whatever force it was that helped me get clean every day. I am so very grateful for my beautiful son and the opportunities that I've been given and it's hard for me to wrap my head around what I my life could have become had I allowed it to get that far. Anyone can do it. It comes down to how bad you want it and how hard you are willing to work for it. These "101 tools" really can help though. There's a lot of valuable information there, and I wish I had things like this and SR to aid me in my recovery, BUT I chose to hide my addiction AND my recovery from everyone because I was ashamed, and so I did it on my own without a support system in place. Recovery is the greatest gift you can give to yourself and the people who love you. |
Originally Posted by illbewaiting
(Post 3338611)
My recovery was based upon pure will power and the want/need to do better things with my life. I did what(in my experience) I've seen very few people do.. |
Well, the list wasn't given to me. As I stated before, it was given to my fiance by his counselor, and I figured I could just pass it along through here for those who haven't seen it yet. I tell people I'm about 6 years clean, but in all actuality it's probably closer to 7 years.. I just couldn't tell you when my exact date of sobriety was. I know it wasn't too long after August of '05 when I had finally had enough of that life. I'm a lucky duck to have turned my life around as "easily" as I did. I know there are very few people out there who are/were able to do what I did and I take a lot of pride in that. I like to think that if it were a tougher battle I still would have come out on top, but who knows. How long have you been in recovery if you dont mind me asking? |
Thanks for sharing, I like this list. Congrats on your sober time and impending marriage. Best wishes, |
Originally Posted by illbewaiting
(Post 3339037)
How long have you been in recovery if you dont mind me asking? |
I really like the list. Thanks for sharing it. |
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