Lately I’ve come to realize that you really do have to do the work to stay sober. Everybody does that differently, but I find that reading about everything & anything, all things sober, is really helping. This sober life, getting sober and the work I’m doing to stay sober, reminds me a lot of when I started running.
When I was training to run a marathon, I used to read a lot of articles & one of the tips was to stay hydrated. Don’t wait until you’re thirsty to drink water – you need to do it all the time. Same with staying sober – don’t wait until you’re ready to drive to the liquor store to start reading about why you shouldn’t drive to the liquor store. Keep ahead of those cravings by reading, praying, reminding yourself why you stopped & why you are making a change to your life.
Run the mile you’re in.
When I first started running it was SO hard. I would look at my watch & say “what? I’ve only ran a mile & I need to do 5 more??!?!? I don’t think I can run another minute let alone 5 miles! I’m doomed – I’ll never be able to do this! Why did I think I could do this? Why do others do it so effortlessly?” Then I learned the mantra – run the mile you’re in. Don’t worry about the other miles & guess what? It really works! I focused on the mile I was in & before I knew it, those other miles were done & I was actually succeeding!
Similar to one day at a time.
Don’t think about the days, weeks, months, years ahead of you of not drinking. Just focus on today. Keep learning & educating yourself on the sport of running if you want to get better at it. Same with sober living – you need to really engage yourself in learning about it, reading articles, posts, blogs, whatever you can get your hands on. Sometimes, I would prefer to spend all day reading about it, but that’s just not realistic.
I try to get on the BOOM Community app in the morning & then a couple times throughout the day & before bedtime. I also read sober memoirs on a daily basis. I no longer use social media & I very rarely watch TV. I even stopped listening to the radio & started listening to books on Audible.
I’m in sober training!
Ten Keys That Opened the Door for me and Help me Stay Sober
1. This community. Logging in and sharing my thoughts, reading about others’ journeys and cheering them on — and getting cheered on!
2. Belle’s one-minute messages (her voice is so present and calming), daily emails, and blog posts. ( You’ll find them linked into this post with other great resources )
3. Catherine Gray’s book The Unexpected Joy of Being sober.
4. An I Am Sober app that I use to track my progress and money saved and make a daily pledge to stay sober.
5. Stop Drinking meditation with Andrew Johnson. I love his voice too.
6. Crocheting (keeps my hands busy and I can’t do it under the influence).
7. Different varieties of epsom salt baths.
8. Tried ASMR audio for the first time last night and it helped me sleep. It’s WEIRD (definitely not for everyone), but it did seem to help.
9. Allen Carr’s book Quit Drinking and the mindset that as soon as you decide not to drink, there’s no more tortured thinking about when, where, how to have that next drink. ( more on that in this post How to Get From Here to There )
10. Using these keys as often as needed.
I’m in Sober Training!
Simple Solutions to Beat the Binge Drinking Routine
Walking Away from the Wine o’ Clock Routine
How to Override your Lizard Brain
How I Became Alcohol-Free. Thoughts on Neuroplasticity and Neurogenesis
Survival Skills for Staying Sober
Come Join us and Talk it through :
Ask Yourself these questions :
( you’ll find our answers and can add yours inside BOOM at the linked titles)
If you can think of one thing that scares you, or scared you most about sobriety what would it be ?
What does Courage mean to you? Does it take courage to stop drinking? Why?
and we’re there to help with answers to these as well
What made you *realize* that you had “crossed the line” and had a very serious alcohol problem?
Do you really PROMISE it’s better on the other side? Swear?
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