Mags1

Rummaging through my sober tool box I was shocked to see some of my ‘old faithful’ tools were covered in AV (addictive voice) rust.



I’d not used ‘baby steps’, ‘one day at a time’ and ‘look after your side of the street’ for a long while and they’d got pushed to the bottom of my ‘sober tool box’ like an unwanted and forgotten piece of an old memory.



But what if I should ever need these ‘once valued’ and ‘lifesaving’ tools?



‘I probably won’t though’, I think.



My ‘sober muscles’ tell me that last sentence was my AV saying that and it’s true!



Who knows what life throws on us, and when life feels so unbearable and hard that ‘only a drink will do’, are my “old faithful” sober tools up to the job of battering the AV down?



With this in mind, I will check all my ‘sober tools’ and ‘sober muscles’ are up to it and ready to use whenever I should need them.



How’s your sober tools and sober muscles?

Have a rummage through your ‘sober toolbox’ and check them out. Are they up to the job?

Flex your ‘sober muscles’ , be confident and sure they’re ready to use whenever life throws us a curve ball.

SouthCoaster

In for first weekender, and flexing 💪🏻

Mags1

Congratulations on shotgun Southcoaster.

SouthCoaster

Haha thanks Mags, great reading 🙂

Free2bme888

Play it forward
Remember the truth
Practicegratitude
Ride the waves
Connect with others like me
Revitalize the hobbies
Do chores
Call a friend
Eat, drink, (ANYTHING BUT ALCOHOL)
Sleep
Watch a movie
Read a book
Read SR
Exercise
Play solitaire
Work in the garden
Delete contacts no longer needed on phone/computer
Clean out a junk drawer
Meditate
Go to church/synagogue/temple/mosque
Google liver disease
Google gorgeous pictures
Google positive sayings
Do Pilates
Do yoga
Pet a pet
Journal

Free2bme888

Sober muscles are getting stronger on the daily……….always now.

Free2bme888

South coaster, welcome!

SouthCoaster

Thanks Free, great list! 👍🏻

least

I'm happy to say that practicing gratitude has kept my sober tools in good shape - bright and shiny and ready for use. practicing gratitude has made me a better person. Happier too.

AthensDawgs

hi everyone.
getting ready for another day at work. Almost to 30 days without alcohol.

the new work schedule is allowing more time in the afternoon to get stuff done. I usually come home and take a short nap before getting things done. I've taken a little bit of a break from meetings but that's also on my list to get to a few this weekend and get back to a nice routine.

I walk anywhere from 3-7 miles a day for work, but I've found that walking on my own time helps a ton as well. I've lost some weight and feel great.

Mags1

Hi AthensDawg pleased the earlier shift at work is working out for you. Well done on the walking and weight loss!

calmself

End of Day 179 - Just came back from an awesome evening walk from Waikiki beach. We saw a dance show, ate mangoes and drank fresh sugarcane juice! Good night from Honolulu!

Canadian Koala

Thanks Mags

I'm in for another sober weekend! ☼

Purplrks3647

Another great topic, Mags...my AV has been quiet for a while now....kind of like when kids or pets are quiet, you know they're up to something! I've got a lot of dusting off/exercising/organizing to do (mentally and physically! lol)

In for the weekend

Cityboy

Stopping at McDonald's for a $1 cup of tea was one of my most effective tools in those early weeks. Then, because of the pandemic, you couldn't get your own tea anymore. They would get it behind the counter, and they could never get the ratio of sweet to unsweetened right. But that automatic daily routine of stopping at the beer cave had already been shot in the rump by that time, and that terrible practice of more than three decades of drinking beer on the way home from work was over.

STDragon

Thanks Mags,

Good idea to review the sober tools, and thanks for the list Free. These days I mostly use gratitude for the things I'm able to do and have been able to build/rebuild. Play it forward occasionally when thoughts of drinking enter my head. And of course, daily check-ins with SR to enforce the sober mind-set.

MLD51

I'm in!
Welcome, SouthCoaster. We will be here all weekend to help you through it (and all week - new thread starts each Thursday. We keep going on this one until then).

I've been feeling like my toolbox needs a bit of sprucing up. I'm not exactly having cravings, but the occasional "wouldn't a beer be nice" thought has popped up lately. It's getting to be summer here, and that can sometimes dredge up those thoughts for me. Thoughts like that are quickly dismissed, but I need to make sure I stay equipped to brush them off. Been thinking about getting back into the habit of AA meetings, at least a couple times a month. Covid put that on hold, but I might benefit from connection IRL with other sober women about now. My home group is a women's only meeting. It really helped me a lot in the early days.

My little Chauncey is hanging in there. Eating some, drinking some, getting around a little. Still very little energy, and I'm noting what I think is some disorientation at times. Like he doesn't know where he is or what he's supposed to do. But for now, he's holding on.

Leshar

Thanks, Mags, for another thought provoking Weekenders post.
I didn't go to my toolbox when I should have so your post is a timely reminder. It's there, but needs to be sought out and used!

Free, excellent list, thank you.
MLD, thinking of you and Chauncey.

I'm in for another sober weekend.

I'm in for a sober weekend.

Alysheba

Thank you Mags!
Marty, glad to hear Chauncey seems to be doing a bit better.
Love and peace to you all!

samwitch

Nice list Free!
I have to work on practicing gratitude, it absolutely makes a difference.

I'm in for a sober weekend.