Recovery is a life-long journey and you can lose sight of the destination any time and get tempted to use the substance you swore you'd never touch again. This weakness serves to remind you that the war never is over. Learning from this will force you to avoid situations or anything else that might act as the the trigger which [might] draw you back to the addiction. View not a cravings as a weakness. Use them instead to strengthen your resolve to burn your bridges behind you. Accepting that you are weak makes you fight harder to win.
Great tips, Rainman! I agree wholeheartedly with viewing cravings not as weaknesses. I try to view them as shadows of my former self that still linger.
These words are very inspirational. I can see that you have truly learned many things on your journey. They say when we stop learning is when we die. I hope no one is ready to stop learning. Use every tribulation in your recovery as a step on the ladder to keep climbing up on.
Smart words. A person can't expect themselves to have all of the answers, or they wouldn't be dealing with an addition or substance abuse problem. This even applies to other aspects of life, obviously. We need to learn as we go because there's no other way to do things. When we make mistakes, we can learn from them. Not all failures need to be seen as failures because some of them are minor achievements in the grand scheme of things instead.
You are certainly right but during recovery it is important for one to focus on the major objectives ahead and the reasons for your goals that way it would be easier to achieve your target a bit more.
When a problem happens, there are different ways people handle them. They either run away from them, or they approach it and learn from it. I never regret anything I've done in the past, because if I hadn't experienced it, I could've never learned from it. I've learned and experienced to learn from my mistakes. Experience is really the best teacher in my life.
It is all indeed a state of mind. You have to really think about it and it will manifest in your life. Only manifest the good things though.
Nice tips you have made here but honestly this advice also affects most things we do in life. The truth of the matter is that any major obstacle that we would attempt to overcome in this life usually requires a lot of focus and sometimes it requires time and patience.
Accepted; it is so easy to fall when walking upright. We are humans and have been made with weaknesses that we must know how to handle. I have been clean for a long time and I will not tempt fate by ordering a drink to test how strong I am. We must be thankful for everyday that we do not use drugs to feel better about self.
You might tame the beast but that doesn't make it any less wild. When provoked it can strike back. Same applies to drugs. Beating an addiction is a step in the right direction but staying clean is a life-long journey. Testing your strength against a drug that held you captive might prove disastrous that's why it's much better to stay away from said drugs or places where you'll find them.
Thanks for the inspirational words. Every day is a learning experience. We go through different circumstances each day and we can go home at the end of the day and reflect on it and there is always something to take to heart and learn from. Whether it be that you learn when your temptations run high or a new way to fight the cravings, at least you learned something new and the next time you will do better.
I do agree. You're giving me an idea, in fact. Recovery speeds best through outright acceptance of your situation and your pitfalls as a human being. People who are having difficulties recovering have not really accepted themselves or what's there before them.
I agree that recovery, not just with substance abuse, is a life-long journey. There's no chance for us to be complacent and we always have to guard ourselves against temptation to do what we have done in the past. I would say that anyone who has fully recovered and has been continually recovering are really very strong people who must be admired. We've heard of a lot of stories of people who have backslid just because they lost touch of their priorities and goals in life.
So I decided I would come here tonight to find something that inspired me. This has. I can say nothing more" thank you." Not all of us are dealing with an addiction. Some of us are merely dealing with this thing called "life". Even for us this is a timely reminder.
Very inspiring and motivational post. That is so true. Recovery is a life-long journey and you should keep walking along the right path.
There is always a challenge that everyone of us faces. It's nothing but keeping our faith with ourselves even during the times of our doubts. We could never be sure of how we are going to turn out, the important thing is being able to be at our best all the time, and to be so is to do the best that we can. Let's fight all our struggles all the time. We can never be complacent. Let's take everything as a challenge!
Addiction is a burden on the body and soul. Drugs are partaken in due to a feeling of need for their effects. Perhaps, improving social interactions or causing pleasurable experiences for the user. These and other outcomes of drugs are what makes one become addicted, leading to the drug abuse. I learned this from my personal experience with recovery. Becoming stronger with each downfall and remembering goals or supportive beliefs helps on the journey.