The New Year rings in an opportunity for a fresh start. A new resolve… a second chance… a time for renewed courage, motivation, and a plan for a year of sobriety.
Granted, 80% of New Year’s resolutions are forgotten by February 1st; however, 20% are kept and successfully met. You can be the 20%! Success is achieved through careful planning and committing to realistic New Year’s resolution ideas.
These ideas will give you some things to consider. Don’t take on all of them at once! Choose the ones or one that is most important to you and your family. Give yourself time to develop a new routine and take it one day at a time.
- Enter a treatment or outpatient program
- Remove all alcohol or drugs from your home
- Vow to ask for support from friends, family members, sponsors, or counselors when needed
- Attend an AA or NA meeting at least three times a week
- Set a new, small goal every Monday for the week
- Celebrate victories
- Resolve to never give up
- Start a gratitude journal. Post entries every night before bed
- Exercise 20 – 30 minutes every day. Walk, run, lift weights, shoot hoops, jump rope, or exercise with a DVD
- Volunteer at AA or NA meetings or at a non-profit in the community
- Make every Sunday family day
- Learn how to cook healthy meals through classes, cookbooks, videos, or TV shows
- Don’t eat sugary foods for 2 weeks
- Seek professional assistance from a rehabilitation treatment center. This is a great place to start as you will be surrounded by caring people who know how to get you on the right track in a healthful way and teach you the skills needed for long-term sobriety
- Set a realistic goal as to when you will begin recovery on your own
To be in that 20% of resolution champions take time to think about the resolutions you set. Don’t come up with them on the fly, at a party, or off the cuff. Respect the New Year’s resolution ideas list you create for yourself. Make them realistic, don’t isolate, ask for support, and work hard.
The benefit? Sobriety in all its wonderfulness. Make it a Happy New Year!