How to Take Recovery One Step at a Time
You have likely heard a million different phrases that imply that taking things one step at a time is often best. Some of these phrases include:
- Slow and steady wins the race.
- Put one foot in front of the other.
- Rome was not built in a day.
The list goes on and on. When it comes to recovering from addiction, this could not be more true.
When you enter treatment and begin your recovery journey, it is important to focus on your progress. You may want to strive for perfection, but that is just not reality. You are bound to have setbacks and hiccups along the way. Taking treatment and recovery one day at a time helps you focus on your successes and how far you have come.
Staying motivated during treatment and recovery can sometimes be difficult. Focusing on small goals and achievements can motivate and help you stay encouraged. Many facilities, such as Enlightened Solutions, utilize the 12-Step process to encourage you to take your recovery one step at a time. This allows you to focus on making changes to one area and building upon that.
It is important to practice and make a habit of viewing your recovery as a process. While the end goal is long-term sobriety, it takes work each and every day to stay on track. A few tips for maintaining the one step at a time perspective could include:
- Set small goals
- Acknowledge each success
- Learn from mistakes
- View each day as a new opportunity
Set Small Goals
Anytime you have a large task to tackle, it is a good idea to break it into smaller, more manageable tasks. This can keep you from feeling overwhelmed and discouraged. This also allows you to see and acknowledge progress each step of the way.
Some small goals that you could set during treatment and recovery could include;
- Making time for meditation each morning
- Choosing healthy foods throughout the day
- Trying something new
- Focusing on your water intake
Setting small goals can help hold you accountable. It gives you little opportunities throughout your day to feel proud and accomplished. Staying motivated and encouraged to push through another day during treatment and recovery can benefit your long-term success.
Acknowledge Each Success
Just as it is important to set small goals for yourself, it is also important to celebrate each little victory. Having a support system around you to help you celebrate can be even more powerful. Sometimes, writing down your goals and being able to actually check them off as you achieve them each day can be very gratifying and empowering.
Acknowledging and giving yourself credit for progress can be especially helpful on tough days. Say you are experiencing cravings or just feeling a little off one day. Despite the way you are feeling, you might make the decision to go on a walk outdoors after lunch. Giving yourself credit for deciding to do something for your mental health by getting outside and moving your body should be acknowledged and praised. Allowing yourself to be proud and feel some sense of accomplishment even on tough days is beneficial.
Learn From Mistakes
During treatment and in recovery, you are bound to make mistakes. This is completely normal. What is most important is how you respond when you make mistakes. It is important to process what led to the mistake and learn from that. For example, maybe you put yourself in an environment or a situation that you knew could be triggering. Perhaps this leads to relapse or resurfacing of trauma. Learn from that experience and avoid those triggers moving forward.
Learning from mistakes can be very powerful. Sometimes, mistakes have to happen in order for you to learn or for information to actually sink in. By taking knowledge and information gathered as a result of missteps during treatment and recovery, you can feel empowered and enlightened moving forward.
Each day provides a new opportunity for growth, learning, and progress. Sometimes, you might just have an off day. This is completely normal. It is important to reassure yourself and find comfort in knowing that tomorrow is a brand new day full of opportunities to redeem yourself and go to bed even healthier, stronger, and better.
At Enlightened Solutions, we encourage you to focus heavily on the progress you make each day. Through each experience, we help you process and appreciate what each specific activity may help you gain or learn. This allows you to focus more on progress over perfection and encourages you to take treatment and recovery one step at a time. This is the perspective that will keep you motivated and encouraged to push forward.
Recovery is a process. There is no quick fix when it comes to healing and recovering from substance abuse. It is critical to take things one step at a time during treatment and throughout recovery. You will have good days and you will have bad days. Find encouragement from the good days and learn from the bad days. Recognize that each day brings promise and opportunity. At Enlightened Solutions, we encourage our clients to focus on progress over perfection. Perfection is not reality, but progress is something we strive for. We help clients recognize their progress and find hope and encouragement in what they do and learn each day. If you or someone you care about is struggling with drug or alcohol addiction, we would love to help. To begin the journey to recovery, call Enlightened Solutions today at (833) 801-LIVE.
