What sounds easier to you—committing to remaining sober for the next 24 hours or a lifetime? The principle of living one day at a time originates from Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). This principle is especially beneficial in the early days of recovery when someone’s daily goals are solely focused on maintaining their sobriety. Tackling your sobriety in 24-hour increments will help you to pay attention to how you feel in the present moment and to ask yourself what resources you may need to employ to stay sober.
Dealing With Emotions as They Come
Living one day at a time allows you to be fully present for what you are experiencing in the present moment. Dealing with only what problems you face in the present, as opposed to compounding them by worrying about future issues, will make you more likely to solve the challenges of today.
In recovery, this looks like calling your sponsor, going to a meeting or therapy when you are having a hard day struggling with negative thoughts of relapsing. You look at how you can make yourself feel better and avoid using for today instead of spiraling deeper into worry about how you will stay sober day after day.
Not Looking to the Past or Future
By tuning in to the present day, you aren’t engaging with the past or future. Reflecting too much on either of these can be triggering and overwhelming for someone in recovery and ultimately does not serve them. Spending time mad at yourself about past mistakes or worrying about things that may never happen to you in the future makes for an unproductive use of your time and doesn’t give you time to be actionable on today’s needs.
Lessons Beyond Substance Abuse
Although the idea of living one day at a time was popularized by AA, as seen in their popular Just For Today card, which many members carry around in their pocket to read and remind them of their daily promises to do everything mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, they need to remain sober. By learning the principle of living one day at a time, you can learn to better tackle life’s challenges outside of recovery as well. You can more effectively handle work, home, and relationship problems by taking them on one at a time.
Learning to live one day at a time will help you better handle the challenges in recovery as they come. Recovery is a non-linear journey offering obstacles and moments of struggle along the way, but having a sound mindset will help you navigate the journey with clarity. If you or a loved one are struggling to get or remain sober, call Avalon Malibu. At Avalon, we look at the needs of the whole person and focus on providing effective treatment on every level of your needs. Between our dedicated staff of professionals and our continuum of integrative care, we find a treatment plan that is right for you so you can achieve lasting recovery. Call us today at (844) 857-5992.
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