jakec

What are some thingas you do to stay motivated? Not just to stay sober, but just in general?

I've been pretty much lying in bed since I've gotten off work (over 4 hours from now) and really have no desire to do anything with my self. Bleh.

Sulu1

Hi Jake

I've found that doing nothing and procrastinating is my worst enemy. I fare much better with sobriety and life in general when I keep my mind as active as possible. I have to really force myself to do things at times but knowing what usually happens when I get bored keeps me motivated.

Even if I'm just watching a film or playing a video game or something, it keeps my mind occupied and helps me massively with my anxiety problems.

PurpleKnight

I learnt a long time ago that simply doing nothing is not a crime, we live in a world where results and activity are always expected, but why? what's wrong in sitting with a coffee for an hour, contemplating life for a while, relaxing for a few hours and at the end of the day not feeling guilty having not achieved anything?

Motivation is only needed if we need to achieve something that takes work and effort, there needs to be a goal, an aim, something we are striving towards.

In early Sobriety I was aiming to be Sober, and staying in bed or sitting in played online Scrabble achieved that, so why did I need motivation, I was achieving my goal with every passing hour!!

I think we need to learn to simply be, simply be alive, we don't need to be tearing down mountains and seizing the day with every waking moment, just not drinking is enough!!

airwick

I think of my "son" and how I need to take care of him. That keeps me motivated. He's turning 13 shortly (couple months) and that's enough to keep anyone motivated

jakec

I defiantly agree with you. I guess I just feel kind of restless irritable and discontent today and feel the need to do something about it but it gets almost "comfortable" to sit with my negative feelings. So I decided to try to find a ride to a meeting and if that doesn't work out I'm going to set aside quiet time to take a hot bath and then meditate for at least 10 minutes before bed.

Resolv

Purpose/mission, values, & goals. Lot's of books on this. True North, Habits of Effective People. Great post. Thanks.

least

My dogs and cats motivate me every day. I am motivated to give them the best care I can give them. For the dogs that means a daily walk and good diet. For the cats it means good food and keeping the litter boxes clean.

The energy I spend on my critters comes back to me a hundred fold in their devotion to me.

MelindaFlowers

Hey Jake,

For the first month I was pretty sick and lethargic so I didn't care about motivation. I spent a lot of time in bed and on the couch with my laptop. My only goal was to not drink. I didn't need to become a super motivated person in that month. Just not drink.

Now that I'm at three months I am resuming normal motivated people things. How long have you been sober?

MavisTheFairy13

i'm only on day 10 and feeling quite lethargic still, the energy bursts come and go. Have to push myself a bit!

mecanix

Hi jake ,
I was washed-out for about the first 6 weeks of sobriety .

I still enjoy bed days snuggled up sleeping in and maybe watching films or playing on the x-box .
My bed was my fortress against alcohol and remains that way as a return to, if things get outta-whack or unmanageable in life .

Certainly depression can sometimes be in the background , smothered out by our use and abuse of drugs . When we stop we find we have to deal with that !

It can be difficult to bear with and deal with these feelings , they do change if we work at it over time though .

whatever happens just keep sober and keep on trying to make headway and i'm sure you'll be sup prised at how quickly things turn around .

Keep on

m