How do people keep sober for so long? If you are currently struggling with drug use, alcoholism, or the process of recovery, you may find yourself looking at people with years of sobriety and asking yourself this very question. When you are struggling to get a day, a week, or a month sober, it may be overwhelming to look towards people with years sober for inspiration, guidance, or advice.
It is important to remember, however, that these people all started off with just one day of sobriety. People keep sober for so long the same way that people keep on using for so long – one day of decision-making at a time. Life is not a summation of its parts, but a series of decisions made like micro-movements of machine gears, each leading toward a result. Long-term sobriety is not a miracle or an unattainable goal and with support and motivated action, anyone can have it in their life.
Prioritizing Recovery
If you want to become a good soccer player, you will have to practice playing soccer most days. If you want to learn to play the piano, you will need to purchase sheet music, take lessons, and continue practicing. Even the most talented players will lose their abilities without good habits. Recovery is just like this. If you do not practice maintenance, use resources, and seek daily self-improvement, you will not be likely to have high-quality long-term sobriety in your life.
By making recovery a daily focus and a lifelong goal, you will one day achieve the long-term sobriety that you admire in others. There are multiple different steps that people take in order to prioritize recovery and sobriety maintenance on a daily basis. It is also important to set a good foundation in yourself on which to base your long-term sobriety. This is why many people like to jump-start sobriety with detox, rehab, sober living, or other reputable types of recovery programs. What you do at the beginning of your recovery journey can have a strong impact on the future of your recovery.
Helping Others
If you ask someone who has been sober for a very long time what the secret to their sobriety is, usually they will tell you that there is no secret at all. If they do say there is a secret to it, then they will most likely credit helping others. It can be difficult to understand why addiction is so painful or why you had to experience some of the difficult things in life that you did.
When you realize that all of this helped you to be able to help other people later on in life, it becomes much less painful. People with twenty, thirty, or even forty years of sobriety, often still find themselves helping out the newly sober in order to stay humble, fulfilled, and purposeful. There are many different ways that you can help others in sobriety and help yourself to stay sober at the same time. Some people choose to sponsor others in programs, to volunteer at jails, prisons, or rehabilitation centers, or to donate to worthy causes that support those who are in recovery. They might also choose to spread the word about their joy in sobriety and about programs that might help others to find the same.
Seeking Continued Support and Taking it One Day at a Time
Even the most successful sober people continue to seek support throughout their lifetimes. Life is not perfect and when dealing with difficulties, people with long term sobriety often reach out to others for support. They might call their sponsors, their family members, or other sober people who they met in treatment. At the end of the day, there is no secret to long term sobriety because it exists just like short term sobriety – one day at a time. By making the best of each day sober, anyone can continue to gain sober time and grow as a person. With patient progress, you will soon find yourself as far along as the people whose sobriety lengths you questioned in bewilderment. If you are struggling and need help, our counselors are available 24 hours a day. Call 614-705-0611.