Recovering from an alcohol and drug addiction takes time. Your desired inner healing from your personal frustrations and regrets does not happen overnight. While the length of time for each recovering person may vary, it is also highly dependent on your willingness to submit to a program or therapy that is specially designed to help you overcome your present situation.
To help you create a promising path towards your complete healing and recovery, we at The Journey House teach you how to get back on track by establishing short-term and long-term goals. These goals act like a compass, a reminder that guides you on your new journey.
It is crucial that you are constantly reminded of your main goals in life so that you do not lose your focus. There are numerous distractions that you will encounter along the way and it helps greatly if you have a tangible guide that you can revisit ever so often just so you will know if you are still right on track.
Short-term goals are concrete actions you want to do in the next 3 to 5 years. You will focus your energy on accomplishing these goals as they will also contribute heavily to your long-term goals. Taking your short-term goals seriously is good training for when you start to work on your long-term goals.
Here are a few tips on how to prepare your short-term goals:
TIP #1: Identify simple and specific steps
Don’t be too hard on yourself, but don’t be too lenient as well. Come up with
clear and concise goals that are not ambiguous. The action or goal must be easy to understand.
TIP #2: List down doable and achievable goals.
Consider goals that you can actually do with the present resources
you have. As much as you can, do not aim for something that requires additional
resources such as money. The goal must focus on your ability to comply more than making you feel good.
TIP #3: Think about your immediate need.
Come up with something that you need to do in order to remedy your present
situation. Does it involve avoiding specific items? Do you need to exercise daily? Are you advised to eat a specific type of food? Are you required to gain a specific amount of weight?
TIP #4: Work with an accountability partner.
At the end of the day, the effectiveness and value of a goal are only appreciated if you are able to comply faithfully. And very often, you need another person to encourage you when the compliance becomes a burden.
You need to commit to your accountability partner and agree to certain conditions. Your accountability partner will monitor you, encourage you and help you overcome the difficulties you will encounter along the way.
Making your long-term goals is much like making your short ones. However, they differ in time frame and the amount of impact they will make on you and the people surrounding you. Always consider and picture out the kind of life you want to live moving forward.
Remember, this is not just an exercise to help you get past some issues in your life, this exercise is the compass that will direct your steps towards inner healing and complete recovery.
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