Writing, next to action, is the most powerful thing you can do to bring life to your thoughts. When you put pen to paper or strike the keys and watch the words fill the screen you are breathing life into your ideas. You’re making a record, something you can go back to and look every day to remind yourself what your aim is. When you gain clarity about the direction you want to go and write it down, it’s a powerful first step to making it a reality. Numerous studies back the power of writing down goals, and there’s no better goal than staying sober and getting creating the life you’ve always wanted.
First Identify Your Goals
It’s impossible to know where you’re going if you haven’t defined your destination. You won’t be able to measure progress or even get started if you have not clearly defined your aim. The three most common goals recovery addicts write down in goal setting exercises are:
- I want to get and stay sober.
- I want to repair family relationships.
- I want to have stability in my life.
Once you have your primary aim defined, you can break down your goals into smaller steps. Write down the steps and get help identifying the steps. The steps should be specific, measurable, realistic, and time-based. Each step is a goal within itself. If a step is too ambitious, the fear of failure can cause issues. Make your step goals something that you know you can do. That builds momentum. Momentum will carry you to achieving your bigger goals.
Goal Setting Speeds up Recovery
A Scottish study examined the power of goal setting for patients recovering from knee surgery. The rehab is very important but very painful so many skip rehab sessions. The study looked at the types of people most likely to fail and made them set weekly goals. They had to write down exactly what they were going to do. The patients in the control group were not required to set any goals. When the researcher visited the patients three months later, she found a stark difference between the two groups. The patients who had written down plans in the notebooks had started walking almost twice as fast as the ones who had not. Remember this was the group that was selected as more likely to fail.
Get Started on Writing Your Goals Today
Even if you do it poorly, do it. You will get better. Write your goals down and read them every day multiple times throughout the day. Work on refining the step goals you’ll need to master to achieve your bigger goals. You will make progress. The great thing is you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Just do what successful people do, and you too will be there in time.
Are you or a loved one struggling with alcohol or other drugs? Call us to speak confidentially with a recovery expert now: (901) 521-1131 or visit our website serenityrecovery.org