Not feeling motivated in Your Recovery?

Motivation is Less Important than Determination

In a society that is constantly consumed by telling everyone to follow their heart or find their own truth;
we have become products of how we feel, instead of people with the power to practice self-control and the wisdom to make educated decisions. 

Challenge:
Stop
using the phrase I don't feel like it. 
Start
focusing on the consequences of your choices.

The world is filled with successful people that started out doing things that they didn't particularly feel like doing in order to achieve a desired outcome. 
You can be one of those people!
Whatever it is that you are hoping to achieve, follow these 5 simple steps and watch the results amaze you! 
For our purposes we will focus on recovery, but these steps are really applicable to all areas of life. 
​

Step 1: Pray

When we set out to make a plan for our lives it's best practice to consult our creator, right?
God has given us an instruction manual for life. 
It would be silly not to use it. 
So read his word. 
What does God say about how we should care for our bodies and minds? What does he say about substance abuse, drunkenness, and over-indulgence?
Here are a few verses for reference:
​

1 Peter 5:8
​

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

Ephesians 5:18
​

“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.”

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
​

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”

1 Corinthians 10:13
​

“But when you are tempted, God will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

You don't have to face temptation alone. You don't have to be strong enough. We're not.
We have to surrender and ask God to help us.
It is then that we are provided the strength to walk the road to recovery. 
​

Invite the Holy Spirit into your heart and then ask specifically for the fruits of the spirit:
​

Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control. 
​

Step 2: Determine Your Values

​Values are different from goals, but they compliment one another. 
You may value being a responsible parent, therefore you have the goal of being active in your child's life, attending their games, helping them with their home work, etc. Those are all attainable goals that are in line with that specific value. 
​

Consider these areas of your life:

Family

Marriage/Relationships

Finances

Career

Parenting

Health/Wellness

Volunteering/Community

Spirituality

Friendships

Leisure Time

​Personal Development/growth
​

For each category give it a ranking of 0-10 for how important that area of your life is to you. 
For example, how much do you value giving back to your community?
​0 being not at all and 10 being greatly. 
​

Once you have placed a degree of importance on each category, next think of how you show that you value what you say is important to you. 
For example, if I rank family as a 10 - Do I make sure I am present? Do I tell them I love them?
Do I prioritize their needs?
If not, develop goals that you know will align with your values. 
​Do so for each category that you rank 5 or above. 
​

Step 3: Create SMART Goals
​

​A SMART goal is an acronym for five criteria that will help you determine and achieve your goals.
​

Specific
Measureable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-bound

Take a look at the categories you ranked 5 or above. 
For each of those categories create at least one SMART goal that you can obtain this week. 
​For example from the category of health:
"I will walk around my neighborhood for 30 minutes
on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 5 PM to 5:30 PM"

or

Spirituality:
"I will read a Proverb every morning at 6 AM followed by a short prayer."

​See how specific those goals are? I know exactly what I'm doing, when I'm doing it, and for how long I will do it. Whereas if I simply set the goal to "exercise this week." Well, that just may never happen. I will tell myself I have all week to do it and before I know it the week will be over. 
Or if I generally set the goal to "get closer to God" but don't say how I plan to accomplish that then what am I really doing?

​You try!

Step 4: Self-Reflection

​Ironically, Step 4 in the 12 Steps is inventory. 
It just so happens taking inventory or self-reflection is also our 4th step in today's 5 step process. 

So what does it mean to take inventory?
It means that we are taking a sincere and objective look at ourselves.
We are evaluating if who we are is who we want to be.
If we discover that we are not satisfied with the person that we are - we take action to correct what needs correcting. 
We also evaluate our motives. 
It's not enough to simply be a good, sober person. 
We want more. 
We want to be the person that God has created us to be. 
So we ask him to "Search me, oh God, and know my heart. Test me and know my thoughts."

After we have prayed, considered our values, and created our goals, we must reflect. 
Reflect on whether or not we are on the right track and if need be, correct the course.
​

Check in with yourself often, but also be patient that some changes are going to take time. 
You don't want to become discouraged by constantly critiquing yourself. 
Instead, set small attainable goals to get started and then larger long term goals to complete over time. 
Each week check to see if you met your small goals.
Each month, six months, year, check to see if you are achieving your long term goals. 

Share your goals with your family, friends, or a trusted person like a counselor. 
This will give you accountability and someone that will help keep you on track. 
It will also provide you with another perspective for which areas you are doing well and which areas could use improvement. 
​

Step 5: Memorize a Mantra

Choose a manta that will push you to complete your goals.
A mantra is a short memory verse that helps you to feel calm and focused on yaur goals.
Something as simple as the phrase at the beginning of this article
​

"I don't have to be motivated, I just have to be determined."

Each time you feel like quitting, giving up, throwing in the towel or more poignantly - relapsing - 
repeat your manta. 
Tell yourself whatever it is you need to tell yourself to keep going!
​

Some examples:
​

"Just for Today"

"I Didn't Come This Far to Only Come This Far."

"This too Shall Pass."

A mantra can be anything. 
It can be one word, like your child's name or the name of the Lord, Jesus.
It can be a Bible verse or a positive quote. 
​

When I'm having a hard time I repeat 2 Corinthians 4:8
"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."
​

Standing on that truth fills me with confidence that I can face whatever this world throws at me. 
Emotions are temporary. 
Feelings are fleeting. 
Situations are simply that - situational. 
When I check out my track record,  so far I have survived 100% of my worst days. 
I can confidently say that even on the days I didn't think I would make it, I did. 
So when times get difficult in the future I can remember that. 
And so can you. 
No matter what you've been through, what you're going through, or what you will encounter in the future
​

God is in Control

We hope you enjoyed today's message. Make sure to tell someone about Your Praying Friend, but tell everyone about Jesus!