A Culmination of Everything I Have Learnt
I have come a long ways in my recovery however I am am still not where I want to be. I am approaching my one year clean and sober mark and have put a lot of work into my recovery. I have listened to the advice of peers and counselors and have implemented as many recommendations as I could into my life. These changes include changing my peers, changing the places I hang out, changing my attitude, journaling, praying, meetings, self care, and exercise just to name a few. Still though, I feel that I am missing something. I have this feeling that I am missing out on something or I could be doing more. I am quite hard on myself so I have just shrugged this feeling off until now. I now know what I have to do to pull everything I have learnt together and implement constructively in my life. The answer to my issue was a morning routine.
The first section of my morning routine is about planning my day. Having a clear idea of what lies ahead and having a positive attitude to tackle the day is so important for my recovery. It is actually the opposite of what I experienced in my active addiction, chaos. Being informed about my peers and my world combined with having a plan for the day alleviates the pressure associated with the unknown and allows me to better relinquish control of my life. If there are two things that I have learnt in my recovery that have impacted my life the most, they have been acceptance and understanding that I can only control myself. Having a morning routine and planning my day is all about not having to control anyone or anything but myself. Having the plan gives me the confidence to face anything or anyone that may present itself to me throughout the day.
The next section of my routine is all about feeling good and having faith in myself. Music is a huge part of my life and has the power to affect my mood and calm me down like nothing else. Music is both calming and mindful and brings me to the here and now. It allows me to focus on what is right in front of me and makes me feel good. This "good" feeling combined with positive affirmations and vision board review will allow me to manifest more positive things in my life as well as focus on what is most important to me.
The third section of my routine is all about action. This is where the work happens. It is difficult to concentrate or focus on an empty stomach so the first aspect of this stage is to get some healthy food in my stomach. There is nothing like an energetic smoothie and some fresh fruit combined with a coffee in the morning to start my day. Having these is almost enough to put a smile on my face. Now that I am energized and happy I am able to take on my day. It is important that I stay focused and grounded and journalling and blogging have the ability to do this. Pulling all my thoughts into perspective and calming my mind in preparation for the day is so important. I think a lot at night and getting these thoughts down on paper and out of my mind is so important so that I do not continue dwelling on them throughout the day. Once I have my mind under control I can address my assignments in a productive manner or have a calm enough mind to focus on reading. Staying focused enough to read has always been difficult for me. In the past it has been difficult for me to even pay attention long enough to even read a page. I have lots of experience reading an entire chapter, word by word, and not being able to remember none of it. Having a calm mind and focused attention alleviates this problem.
Following this routine will hopefully take my recovery to the next level. I have put a lot of thought into this routine and understand the purpose for, and have belief in, every section. I truly believe that this morning routine is going to have a dramatic impact on my peace of mind, my happiness and therefore my future.
