Setting a goal isn’t too challenging. Working to meet that goal could be. In addiction recovery, goals are the backbone of your long-term success. View them as steps. Addiction recovery goals are measurable and attainable steps that take you closer to your lifelong goal of sobriety and well-being.
After my relapse, I completed five daily tasks that year that kept me focused and helped me achieve full remission. I call them The Daily Five.
What Types of Goals Should You Set in Sobriety Addiction Recovery?
The goals you set during addiction recovery can be driven by what you’re learning in coaching and counseling sessions. For example, some people need to work on stress control. Others are focused on minimizing the impact of negative thoughts from past trauma. You may need to work on eating healthy to help your body to recover from the damage.
Consider these five short-term goals that may work for you during early addiction recovery.
The Daily Five by Dr. Nikki LeToya White
#1Sobriety.
My spiritual teacher who was a recovered alcoholic for over 30 years taught me that refraining from all substances always ranks as the first priority of each day it doesn't matter if it's drugs, gambling, alcohol, sex, or food. The mantra and goal for each day is simple: Don’t Use Today. She explained that “One day at a time” is a slogan used in Alcoholics Anonymous as a reminder of this.
#2 Commit to Quiet Time Each Day
Incorporate some kind of quiet time into your day where you can either relax or reflect on the day. For example, you may wish to meditate for 10-20 minutes. You may wish to spend that time journaling about your life or experiences. You may find a private space and listen to music for a while. Choose something that’s meaningful to you and brings you happiness, peace, and contentment. In order to stay sober today, maintaining a steady mindset and sense of calm is essential. Is there any distress or tension that needs to be addressed in order to gain peace of mind? Is there anything that helps achieve a sense of tranquility
#3 Maintain Your Health Each Day
During addiction recovery, one of the most common triggers for relapse is a lack of self-care. Healthy eating, regular exercise, good sleep, and work/life balance are crucial to sustaining sobriety. If these are key areas where you struggle, set a goal related to achieving balance. Make sure it is attainable and measurable! Priority of Self. What are your needs? Do you have the support and resources to take care of yourself today in order to remain sober?
#4 Attend Recovery Meetings Regularly
Life is going to get busy when you step back into it after addiction treatment. As busy as it is, you still need to actively work towards recovery and long-term sobriety. To do that, you need meetings, a community, a wellness team some sort of support system. Make it a goal to attend meetings or to get some type of recovery session each week. Activities could include:
Talking to your mentor
Seeing your nutritionist or recovery coach once a week
Going to a community recovery meeting
Seeking out a local support group for mental health needs
Turning to an online support group and coaching session
Make it attainable – something you can actually do each week.
#5 Commit to Fostering Relationships
Addiction thrives on isolation. While you can’t set goals that require action from someone else, you can set a goal to put in the time and effort to foster your friendships and relationships. As the saying goes, “you are 100% responsible for 50% of the relationship.” You can set goals to reach your 100% by offering to set aside time every day to connect, even if briefly. You can resolve to reach out to someone in your support group. If you’re a parent, you can commit to spending quality time with your kids every week. With that said make sure you balance that time with your own self-care. Tending to your own needs by addressing your self-care lends to your ability to care for your family. It will be easier to be emotionally available for others and to meet their needs, especially in the cases of those in caregiving roles. Familial stress and exhaustion can lead to triggers to relapse, so it is especially important to make helping others the fourth priority on the list. We are only good to others when we are in a stable state.
Commit to Taking a Step Toward Achieving Something of Value to You
Only you know what lifelong dream you’ve been harboring. Maybe you want to learn Spanish. Maybe you want to build a real estate portfolio. Maybe you want to get your master’s degree or earn your black belt. These are big goals that will take time to achieve, so make a list of the small steps you can take to get started. No matter how long it takes you, knowing that you’re working toward a dream can give you something to look forward to and fill your life with a sense of purpose. In addition, tending to your job is always the last priority on the list. Employment is important to provide for yourself and others, however, it is the last one because tending to personal, emotional, and spiritual needs helps maintain a life worth living. Income provides for essential needs, and sobriety also increases the odds of maintaining work.
Work with Your Recovery Coach and Nutritionist
To achieve your goals, don’t try to go it alone. Use your recovery support network, your nutritionist, recovery coach, therapist, your friends, and your family members to help keep you accountable and encouraged. Spiced Life Conversation offers recovery mentoring for exactly these kinds of situations. We can help you set and achieve your recovery goals and stay on the path to a healthy and happy year.
Need Help Developing A Plan For Self-Care
Do you want help developing a self-care plan that works for your busy schedule? Do you want accountability in implementing a self-care plan? If you or someone you love is struggling to maintain optimal mental and emotional health, consider reaching out to Spiced Life Conversation Art Wellness Studio and Botanica. We are a Metro Atlanta, Conyers Georgia area. We are a coaching and counseling practice with empathetic, skilled counselors and recovery coaches who can help you set goals, develop a self-care routine, and move forward to build a more fulfilling life. Our team would be happy to work with you either just for a couple of sessions to develop and implement a Self-care plan or longer term to work toward overall better mental health within our membership site or other programs.
About The Author:
Dr. Nikki LeToya White MSEd-TL, Ph.D. RHN is the founder, director, and full-time board-certified trauma-informed nutritionist, folk herbalist, and wellness consultant at Spiced Life Conversation Art Wellness Studio and Botanica. She created Spiced Life Conversation, LLC
Art Wellness Studio and Botanica to provide the Metro Atlanta area with counseling and coaching services where clients are carefully matched with the right program for healing abandonment and childhood emotional neglect trauma that cause codependency, emotional eating, financial stress, and imposter syndrome as it relates to fear of success and being abandon. We help you begin your emotional healing journey with ease. Recently, we have expanded to include an online membership site so we now provide support to people living all over the world. All of our recovery coaches provide at least one evidence-based treatment to assist in your recovery. Dr. White is a big proponent of self-care and helping people live a fulfilling life! She has been in full remission with both codependency and emotional binge eating disorder since 2016. In living a life in recovery from sugar addiction. Loving her low-sugar balance lifestyle.
Best Regards
Dr. Nikki LeToya White