5 Things to Give Up For a Successful Recovery
5 Things to Give Up For a Successful Recovery
When you see someone who has had many years of recovery, you see someone who has made a lot of changes in life and in their environment. It’s no secret that recovery changes your entire life. It means work from you and support from loved ones every day. However, these changes are not easy to make. You might be holding on to many thoughts, behaviors, patterns and people because it’s all you have known for a long time. But holding on to the old way of doing things means staying in addiction.
Letting Go = Moving Forward
A successful recovery comes with a price of giving up all the unhealthy things that made your addiction thrive. If you give up these things, you leave room for growth and healing.
- Give up your fear. Being scared of the unknown is common. But if you don’t get past the fear, you can’t move forward.
- Give up your inflexibility to change. Changes happen whether we like them or not. When we accept change, we allow things to improve.
- Give up making excuses. Making excuses doesn’t help you. Accepting responsibility for your past behavior and substance abuse lets you grow and gain insight, which gives you an edge over cravings. Even in sobriety, you might find yourself making excuses for little things, just as a habit. Break the habit.
- Give up putting yourself down. Putting yourself down for past mistakes and hurts doesn’t allow you to heal and puts you at risk of relapse. Realize that you’re now in a new phase in your life and are learning to think and act differently, free of alcohol and drugs.
- Give up your anger. You might have been wronged by people in the past. It’s understandable to be angry over it, but that anger has led you to where you are now; it’s poisonous. Forgiving others frees you from the trap you have been in.
Letting things go lets you forge ahead in your life. What have you let go of? Share with us on Recovery Connection’s Facebook page.
