When we embark on the path of recovery, the first thing we should do is acknowledge that we have made a very important decision, one that will impact our lives from this day forward. Of course, that path may seem uncertain, especially at first, but that should neither deter us nor give us pause for doubt. We are, after all, human, and therefore are likely to have moments of uncertainty.

This is completely normal, so we should never feel that there is anything wrong with us for having qualms about our ability to persevere in our quest for lasting sobriety.

Beyond that, it is also important to then remind ourselves why we embarked on this journey in the first place. We made the decision to become clean and sober and probably fought a very tough battle to overcome those demons to arrive at this state of sobriety that we presently enjoy. It was a victorious battle against our addiction, and we overcame it because of our determination and because, even though we had no way of knowing what it would be like on the other side, we had some shred of inkling or belief that we would make it through.

And make it through we did. Despite our intermittent doubts and uncertainty, despite a slip here or there, despite others not believing in us, we did it. We can credit our therapist, our 12vStep sponsor and fellow group members who continue to support and encourage us. We can give thanks to our loving spouse and family members who not only stood by us but were unwavering in their encouragement of our efforts, even during those times when we felt like we might just not make it past a rough patch.

That’s how recovery works. It is a supportive and inclusive community of others all helping each other to achieve lasting sobriety. It works because we collectively and individually believe that we can overcome our addiction, that we can accomplish goals that we set out for ourselves, and that we truly do deserve the happiness that has so long eluded us while we remained trapped in our past addictive behaviors.

But where do we find this belief that we can, especially if we’ve never found that we believed much at all in ourselves and what we might be able to accomplish? This is a particularly vexing problem to some, yet not so difficult for others. It certainly does help if we have had a few successes under our belt, if we’ve already achieved certain sobriety milestones, but it doesn’t mean that if we’re new to sobriety and don’t have much, if any, experience in this new-found sobriety that we can’t find some way to believe that we have what it takes for the long run.

In fact, we do. Each day, make it a point to envision some positive development or outcome that we want to achieve. Then, create a plan or a path toward achieving it. Yes, this will take a little thought at first, but it will become second-nature after a while. Once we have a goal in mind, and let’s make it simple and achievable goals to begin with, then we have to get busy and do what it takes to accomplish that goal. Maybe it’s as simple as to go to a 12vStep meeting in another location, to meet some new people and step outside our comfort zone to do so. We are taking a positive step in our recovery journey. We are looking to meet others, to listen to the stories of recovery that they share, and to broaden our horizons little by little so that we can see a life beyond the narrow confines we’ve lived in for some time.

This does not mean that we abandon our home group, not at all. It’s just adding variety and varying the routine to keep it fresh. We may find this practice particularly appealing after we’ve been in recovery for many months and years, after we’ve come to the point in our recovery where we feel like it’s the same old routine. There’s nothing like meeting new people to keep us energized and positive about our sobriety.

Can we talk about adventure in the same sentence as recovery? Before we dismiss this as out of hand, let’s think about the concept for a moment. Why, after all, shouldn’t we have some adventure in our lives? Just because we are in recovery doesn’t mean that we’ve relinquished the right to experience adventure. Far from it, in fact, or at least, it should be the farthest thing from our thoughts.

But the truth is that many of us in recovery, especially during the first few months of sobriety when the going can get really tough, adventure is exactly the most remote thought we have. The only time we might think about adventure is in retrospect, as in those times when we were on an adrenalin high, cruising on drugs or feeling no pain at all on our alcohol buzz.

How sad a situation it would be, however, if we go forward in recovery yet deprive ourselves of adventure, even the thought of it. How can we begin to again experience adventure? That is, adventure of the purely wholesome kind, that kind of adventure that won’t get us into trouble with the addictive behaviors that we’ve left behind?

We start from within. The pathways in our mind are limitless and can absolutely not be walled off – as long as we don’t permit it. We can dream the impossible dream in our minds and craft plans as to how to achieve goals that we deem important to us. In fact, it’s probably through this visualization of a future that we’d like for ourselves that we get motivated to tackle the next hurdle or challenge that comes in our recovery journey. In order to get where we want to go, we have to be able to recognize that the future we say we want is actually worth the effort.

And it so is worth the effort, every challenging minute of it.

What about those thoughts of adventure? Where do we start to find them? How do we summon them up in our minds? For one thing, it helps to have some quiet time set aside, time just for dreaming. This is not an absolute, however, as we can think of adventure almost anywhere or anytime we like. All we really need is the desire to let our minds go there, and to give ourselves permission to do so.

To give ourselves the thumbs-up to dream what adventures we want to enjoy, we have to recognize that we have the right to such enjoyment. It’s called living to our fullest. And just because we’re clean and sober doesn’t mean that there’s no such future allowed for us. Put this front and center in our thoughts right here and now: We deserve to be happy, to experience adventure of the highest magnitude that’s within our capabilities. As long as we pursue our adventures with pureness of intentions, and do no harm to ourselves, others or nature, our adventures are like a gleaming gold path beckoning us on.

If we think we’re not capable of adventure, we should start with something small. What is it that really gives us pleasure – clean and sober-type experiences, mind you – and is something that makes us feel excited just thinking about it? It’s that anticipation, that smiling inside us, that makes us want to go forward with action. Whether the action is skiing with our sober friends or deciding to embark on an impromptu getaway with our spouse or partner, start with what we know we like and go from there.

Adventure isn’t what’s out there. It starts from within. In fact, that’s the only way we know it’s an adventure: We feel it.

Often we may find ourselves thinking that we have so much to do and so little time to do it. Is this the way we wish to spend our days in recovery? Most likely, the answer is no. The question then becomes, however, what can we do about it? How can we deal effectively with all the distractions that come our way, threatening to deter us from our path in recovery?

First, it’s important that we recognize that distractions are the nature of human existence. We are thinking human beings, and each day we will have thousands upon thousands of thoughts. Some of these thoughts are pertinent to our recovery goals, while many are perhaps welcome distractions, keeping us from doing the hard work we know we should be attending to in our sobriety efforts. But, recognizing that we are going to have distractions in the form of thoughts and opportunities to be persuaded to go off and do something else – instead of what we’ve intended – is a priority.

The next point to be made about distractions is that they’re usually temporary. In fact, we may conjure them up simply to be able to endure something that we find painful or that we’re reluctant to undertake. For some, a few distractions now and then are healthy. As long as they assist in us getting over a tough spot, there’s nothing actually wrong with them. The key is not to dwell on the distraction to the point where it completely curtails our recovery efforts. Think of distractions here as a short respite, a little breather, giving us the time and space to then continue on with our recovery efforts.

The ultimate goal, however, is to get past the myriad distractions and get on with the business of our recovery. To that end, it is often helpful to construct a list, an itemized to-do schedule that we can refer to – and get back to doing – when we find ourselves lost in this or that distraction. It is only by overcoming obstacles and getting past time-wasting distractions that we will be able to arrive at our chosen goal or our destination that we’ve set for our day today in recovery.

Take heart in knowing that if we have the will to continue and the desire to continue learning and growing, by taking action in accordance with these goals we will be able to accept and understand that a few distractions here and there may hold the promise of opening yet another door, showing us a new path to follow in our ongoing recovery journey. Look upon each day as discovery. When we do this, distractions won’t seem a time zapper or worthless. We won’t need to berate ourselves for having indulged in them now and then, and if we look at everything that comes our way as an opportunity to learn and grow, we’ll be far better for it.

When we first entered recovery, it may all have seemed quite strange. In fact, it was probably that way for most of us. Frightened, confused, in pain, filled with doubts, we often found that it was all we could do just to make it through the day without resorting back to our addictive ways. So, for many, early recovery equaled struggle.

We were advised to give it time, to keep on doing the hard work of recovery, to keep the faith and to accept and value the support and understanding of our loved ones, sponsor and fellow 12-step group members. And, to be true, over time it did get easier – just like everyone said. That’s not to say that there weren’t bumps in the road. There were those, most assuredly. But somehow, with the love and support of our network, we were able to withstand those tough times and come out on the other side stronger and more self-confident. It isn’t that we had all the answers, but we knew we weren’t alone in our struggle to learn how to overcome our addiction. During this time, recovery may have meant friendship and support to us.

Fast-forward to a little more time in recovery, and what do we think recovery means to us today? The answer to this is that recovery means a lot of different things. It may be one thing to us and completely different for the next person. Some continue to struggle and view recovery as a never-ending challenge, while others have come to see recovery as a gift that they never thought they’d receive, an opportunity to reshape their lives into whatever they want it to be.

There is one thing that is universal, however, and that is that recovery is an ongoing process. Whether we are new to recovery or have been in effective recovery for many years, it’s still a process, a way of life that we will be going through as long as we draw breath. Recovery is a choice that we’ve made, even if we’ve slipped and come back time and time again. There is no one-size-fits-all recovery just as there’s no one type of treatment that works for everyone.

Look at this as a lifelong journey, one that we’ve embarked upon because we’ve made the decision and commitment to do so. Sure, we may experience ups and downs along the way. That’s life, and life’s challenges and opportunities certainly aren’t limited to those of us in recovery. But how we deal with them is unique to our situation. We can choose to embrace recovery or to constantly fight it. Our effectiveness in maintaining our sobriety will be so much more likely if we adopt a proactive and hopeful outlook than if we constantly anticipate the negative.

Sometimes it takes us longer to recognize this than it should. But, ultimately, we do begin to understand the process of recovery.

Bottom line: It isn’t what recovery means that’s important. It’s what recovery means to us. And isn’t that what it’s all about?

How many times have we thought to ourselves that tomorrow will be better, that we’ll tackle this or that situation then, but we’re not quite ready now? Maybe we excuse our inability to do the hard work of recovery today because we’re giving ourselves an out, a plausible deniability – we think. But this sitting things out and waiting on the sidelines for something to happen is more likely to backfire than it is to do us any good.

After all, nothing good was ever accomplished by allowing the moment to slip by. In fact, just the opposite is true. We often miss a golden opportunity by thinking it will still be there tomorrow. Not that doing good work of recovery won’t be just as good tomorrow as today, but putting off what we know we need to do doesn’t help with our commitment or our resolve to remain abstinent.

In reality, everything we do in recovery is important. It’s the discipline that we put into our daily routine and the resolve we hold fast that will enable us to look at the work of recovery in a different life. Instead of torture and taking away from our freedom to do as we please, we will be retraining ourselves to see our life in recovery as one of opportunity and progress. It may be a mindset that gets us off the couch or out from behind the desk to do what we need to do for our recovery, but it definitely works.

As they say in the rooms, we learn by doing. Action is what recovery is all about, not talking about it or allowing the thought of what we might do to briefly entertain us. We need to do, and we need to do it today.

The sticking point that many of us have with respect to doing the work of recovery right now is that we’re secretly afraid that it won’t work or that it will be too difficult or painful or that we just can’t handle it. Fear is a huge obstacle – but it can be overcome. How? For one thing, we need to talk over our fears and what we feel is holding us back from our recovery work with our sponsor. It certainly won’t be anything our sponsor hasn’t heard before. Likely he or she has personal experience with the same types of fears. In any event, who better to help guide us through the labyrinth of uncertainty and doubt that our sponsor?

Of course, there may be specific reasons for why we’re not actively out doing the work of recovery right now. We may be bedridden or sick, for example. But that doesn’t preclude us from speaking on the phone with our sponsor, from reading recovery literature, or from making and revising our list of recovery plans and goals. There’s always something we can do – if we put our minds and hearts into it.

Remember that we are never in recovery alone. There are always others who are in it with us – our sponsor, fellow 12-step group members, our loved ones and friends. Yes, recovery takes effort. But it is so worth every bit of effort we put into it.