Quote I get mileage from

"Then, almost without expecting it, without doing a thing consciously different - it just clicks a little bit and away I go." - Dale B

"Rather than seeking a victory, perhaps I'll look to grow my persistence.
For when I pick myself up, to go forward in a struggle, I bring honour to myself.
Even more, I shine a light of honour on us all." - Shug McLister (Inspired by Olympic Saying)

“It can be a powerful shift, when as a person in active recovery, rather than moving forward because I hate what is behind me, I start to move forward because I am beginning to love what is in front of me that little bit more.” - Shug McLister (Inspired by G K Chesterton)

"What got me sober was trying to get sober. Every time I lapsed, picked up, drank, I was thoroughly beaten. I thought at that time "there is no hope for me"  Yet, when I had recovered from that thought just a little, I thought "I'll have another go!" It was a little spark, then another, rather than a flame, that got me here.” - Shug McLister

"Progress becomes a bit more possible with change - as I change my mind, I might change anything!" - Shug McLister

"Believe a bit that I might, and I'm half-way there."

"The past has a bit of power, ESPECIALLY when I give it PERMISSION to have power!"

"When I went looking for a bit of motivation, I found a bit of ACTION comes before it."

"Recovery is for a person who WANTS to put in effort towards it, rather than a person who needs it."

Life will continue :)

Hey There!

Life will continue. People will make a point of not liking me!

People will act rudely and insensitively!

My love interest will not love me.

ABCs have made it all much more manageable and survivable.
I cannot control what happens and I can reduce a bit of my reaction - especially over-reaction.

That comes from the REBT of SMART Recovery.

This I believe!
I is not so important what I believe as it is THAT I believe!
In something, in anything - a belief that gives me hope and direction.

I prefer the possibility of SMART over the inevitability of AA as regards human behaviour - particularly when I find myself subject to a compulsive, unhelpful addictive behaviour (which just about everyone does, at some point).

In an ABC and JAMMED SLOP I find refuge from a vagary of my very human behaviour.

Life wants to exist

No matter how I attempted to poison myself and destroy my wellbeing, my body and my psyche continued to bounce back.

My life wanted to go on, despite my efforts.

Scientists have shown that if you put all the ingredients for life in a puddle, eventually life will form.

Life wants to be, to exist, to form. What kind of life, that is the question?

It seems that recovery has three impediments:

1. The monkey/addictive voice/animal brain/horse/limbic system/salesman/bullshitter - that just wants me to do my Poison of Choice (PoC) and doesn't give a shit about me and what is in my long-term best interests.
2. My spoiled child! Don't tell me not to have one! I'll show you! I'll have 10!!
3. Conditioning. Like Pavlov's dogs, ring the bell, put me in a situation, sound, sight, smell, thought, and the response will be, without intervention, 'automatic.'

Thing is,

1. I can switch on my higher mind
2. I can grow up, mentally
3. I am not a dog and I can recognise, intervene and retrain myself or be retrained

"Psychological and Emotional residue" was mentioned the other day as well. Acknowledging that there are still some things that I am required to acknowledge, deal with, live with, or let go.

Practice, Persistence, Patience and Stubbornness are all important.

"“Recovery capital.” It is a threefold engagement by the recoveree drawing on:

1. one, strengths from within himself or herself;
2. two, an engaged group of family and friends;
3. three, a recovery-friendly community within which the recoveree interacts on a daily basis."

http://aaagnostica.org/2013/08/18/all-paths-to-recovery-are-cause-for-celebration/

Takes all kinds of input to get recovery.

Discoveries this week.

SMART stands for "Self-Management And Recovery Training"

Training:
If you were told you were signed up for sex education, you probably be "ho hum"
If you were told it was "sex training" that would get your attention!
Training is hands on - how-to!

Self-Management:
Every day he complained "Not ham sandwiches again!!" as he opened his lunch.
After a month his friend said "Why don't you ask your wife to make different sandwiches for your lunch?"
The fellow replied "I make my own lunch!"
Keep doing the same things, how can the results be different?

Hierarchy of Values (HoV)
A lot of people ask the question "What is the meaning of life?"
What if you are the answer?
That answer might be found in you and what you hold dear.
In your HoV.

Optimism:
"The expectation that the future will be socially desirable, good and pleasurable."
E.g. "In uncertain times I normally expect good outcomes."

Flow:
"An intrinsically rewarding or optimal state that results from intense engagement with an activity."
Critical to this are the right balance between challenge and skill.

What really works for me?

Form a ten word sentence that makes complete sense and each word only has two letters:
"If it is to be, it is up to me!"

"Acceptance rather than resignation - means that I understand that something is what it is, but there just might be a way through it." - Michael J Fox

Focus on what I do want.
Critical information is how to stand up again once I have fallen.
My thoughts about myself and my circumstances are not truths.

"Peace, rather than being in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work, means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in my heart." - Rita Ghatourey

Slow Down
Develop Awareness
Cultivate the belief that change is possible.
Decide what matters.
When go astray, accept, repair, centre.

All behaviour is an attempt to meet a need.

Tenderness and weakness are companions of life - hardness and stiffness are companions of death.

Happiness has been indicated to be 50% Genes - 10% Life Circumstances - 40% Intentional Activity
What I do makes a difference!! Gene expression and my circumstances are also able over time to be changed.

What does it take to be happy and content?
"Bring the good of others to completion" - Confucius
"When you want others to be happy, practice compassion." - Dalai Lama

Drugs change the shape, structure, function of neurons.
The Brain is perhaps the "organ of behaviour."
I am a very active participant in how I feel.
My brain has no mechanism to remove drugs from receptors.

Drugs reduce dopamine receptors.
Brain and the body are one.

Conditioned Place Preference
Rats injected with an addictive substance tend to stay in the "room" in that part of the box they are put in. Conditioning. Pavlov's Dogs.

Break Point
A rat self injecting an addictive substance by pressing a lever.
Raise the number of lever presses before the drug is administered.
At a certain number the rat will lose interest. Break Point.

Self-Empowerment / Motivation to lower the break point.

Healthier Options / Healthier Thinking / Healthier Choices.

The brain becomes a co-conspirator in addictive behaviour.
- Learning and reinforcement areas activated after chronic drug use.

Neuroplasticity - Brain capable of changing Structure, Signalling, Gene Expression.

Brain takes time to heal - it DOES heal
4 months almost fully from cocaine.

Recurring Themes

SMART discourages the use of labels.

You are free to call yourself whatever you like, however the use of a label would indicate that I AM something rather than I am DOING something.

SMART has heaps of PEOPLE struggling with addictive behaviour but we don't have alcoholics and addicts - unless they wish to call themselves that.

It may be that this willingness to acknowledge this addictive behaviour, by calling oneself this, is an important step at some level - but I called myself that for years, without taking any steps at all to alter the situation.

The journey of sobriety is the roller coaster ride of all time - and I don't like roller coaster rides!! More a Ferris Wheel kind of person.

The fact that I found early sobriety incredibly difficult is a testament to how entrenched the habits were.

Yet I was able to break free using SMART tools and techniques - along with the support of those people on the site and the information on other recovery websites.

It was tough - however it was possible.

SMART is about Self-Empowerment - Recovery is still challenging.

The vast majority of people who enter SMART or AA seem to be struggle staying there and getting free of their addictive behaviour.

The bottom line still appears to be "whatever works, use it!"

The "use it" being the most important thing.

SMART is all about the use of tools and the managing of one's own recovery. ACTIVE processes that require commitment and some goal planning.

SMART works the best for me and I love the empowered, educated nature of it.

I still love some of the people in AA and I admire their compassion and humanity.

"Whatever works, use it!" - I sincerely hope it is used and will, therefore, work.

2 years and one month sober using mainly SMART.

Tools in a toolbox, unused, do not do much. ACTIVE recovery is what works.

It isn't so much what I KNOW that helps me to move forward in my recovery/discovery of self.

It is what I DO that makes the ONLY difference.

I prefer the empowered method of SMART and the use of tools to alter behaviours.

However, if you are looking at recovery, look for what WORKS for you!

It will only work, when I DO.

Do something different - get a different result!

I see a lot of people who talk to themselves in thoroughly inappropriate ways.

Please consider being kind to yourself and allowing recovery to take place, as you work towards it :)