“Healthy habits harbor happiness.”
― Zero Dean, Lessons Learned from The Path Less Traveled Volume 1: Get motivated & overcome obstacles with courage, confidence & self-discipline
Last week, my blog post discussed being present and responding to situations and irritations, to release anxieties in the moment rather than storing them for overload . This week I wanted to pick up the topic of behaviors and activities that I have found to be almost indispensable in my recovery journey. This is to be simply a list and brief commentary on each item, the whole comprising my recovery "toolbox", the set of recovery “tools” that work for me.
Later posts will address each with more detail, explaining how I engage in each and the benefits I derive.
⦁ Connection: Being in touch with loved ones, friends, family and acquaintances is necessary for human contentment and nourishment. Even though I consider myself to be more of an introvert, I need connection with others, and I am a better person thanks to the support of others!
⦁ Daily Planning: Each day I write down the tasks I am aware of and things I want to do, the first item on my task list being, "Sobriety/Well-Being". A daily reminder of my intention for sobriety, and it feels good at the end of the day when I can check this item off.
⦁ Journaling: Not really structured, I capture thoughts on how I slept, what I'm eating, what I'm feeling good about, what may be bothering me, etc. I find that analyzing problems and troubling thoughts in my journal is more successful when I'm writing and sticking to a train of thought. Typically I capture thoughts in the morning and again in the evening before settling in with a good book.
⦁ Acts of Creation: This "can of worms" includes my passion for photography, my love of cooking and, more lately, jigsaw puzzling. These are activities that I find very engaging, putting me into the "zone" or "flow state". At the end of a good session, regardless the creative act, I have a result and a sense of satisfaction, and sometimes I have even learned something new.
⦁ Morning Coffee & Creativity: My typical morning starts with "C&C" (Coffee and Creativity), where I brew my first cup of coffee and then sit with my computer and find a couple of photos shot recently or taken long ago, and then practice my photo critique and editing skills. This time gets my creative mind excited for the day.
⦁ Exercise: Besides hiking, I typically do a home workout with simple gear every other day. Using my prior experience as a personal trainer, I can quickly design a strength and cardio routine using simple fitness gear that targets the whole body. Pushing, pulling and squatting movements plus heart-rate increasing activities like jumping jacks that take not much more that 30 minutes is necessary for both my body and mind.
⦁ Time in Nature: I enjoy any time on a trail, whether it is a long, hard hike, or a leisurely stroll beneath the trees, or walking the beach at the Oregon coast. No matter the weather or the season, I find and feel both awe and peace in nature! Spiritual!!
⦁ Reading: I have learned to love reading again. I read both fiction and non-fiction, for entertainment, for escape, and for education. Reading has taken the place of electronics and social media as I wind down at the end of each day.
⦁ "Edutainment": - Podcasts and YouTube: I can find almost any topic of interest on the web that I can listen to when driving or engaged in other activities. Camera gear reviews, photography techniques, neuroscience, psychology, history, and sociology, streamed via podcasts or just listening to the audio playback of a YouTube video have essentially supplanted my listening to music, though not completely.
I do know from past experience that when I've gotten off track, letting most of my "healthy" habits slide, that I have become unmoored and began to enter a darker existence, a depression. A place where relapse is possible.
It has taken time and effort, a willingness to try new things, and dedication to make these behaviors a practice. But these behaviors or habits are not a checklist, where each must be done in a day or else failure and doom ensue. I know that circumstances and events may occur that demand my attention, presenting me with the choice of which habits can slip. I can accept that journaling or nature time or something else from above may slip for a time for good reason, and that's OK. Knowing I have the power to choose and accepting the consequences of my choice gives me power in my recovery.
Next week I will likely address one or some of these behaviors/habits that work for me, unless something more profound comes up for me that needs consideration.
Have a good week!
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