It might sound obvious that to create change you need to take some sort of action. However, sometimes it’s important to be reminded of what’s right under our noses. This can be especially true if we are blinded by the denial and dishonesty of addiction.
If you want to create change in your life, you can’t only think about getting drug abuse help, you’ve got to make some phone calls, ask some questions, and get answers about cost, length of treatment, and whether your insurance can cover some of the expenses. You’ve got to assess what drug treatment centers are offering compared to what you need. Perhaps you need to call your doctor, psychologist, psychiatrist, and your family. Getting the kind of help it takes to get sober means taking real steps to acquire that help, not just thinking about it.
However, it’s true that it could be challenging to take action because of fear, unwillingness to face the unknown, a desire to stay in your comfort zone, the continued need to stay on the drug you’re using, and a host of other reasons. Sometimes you might notice yourself avoiding the action you know you need to take when you find yourself procrastinating, intellectualizing, or ruminating.
Of course, if you’re only thinking or dreaming about drug abuse help and not taking any action, then obviously nothing will happen. In fact, getting drug abuse help isn’t just about taking action in the beginning in order to get yourself into drug treatment. It’s about taking action throughout your recovery. Some of the action steps that you’ll want to consider during your recovery include:
- paying attention
- making an emotional investment to change
- undergoing one or more self-assessments
- educating yourself about your addiction and any other addiction-related problem(s)
- considering multiple alternative possible actions for addressing your problem(s)
- deciding on a specific plan of action, selected from the alternatives available
- and finally committing and dedicating yourself to executing that self-help plan
In order to see the results you’re after, all of these steps should be considered. Sometimes, you might not even have a full plan before you begin. For instance, you might simply want to stop drinking or using drugs. You might just want to get sober. And so you can create a plan for yourself to get drug abuse help and then commit to that plan and dedicate yourself to achieving long term sobriety. However, after awhile, you might notice that as you progress in your plan and as you get closer to reaching your goals, you might develop other plans and other goals. For instance, the longer you stay sober, you may want to start looking for work or you may want to start looking for a relationship. You may want to support others in achieving their sobriety. You can see how it develops over time. You can see that reaching your first goal of sobriety can open many other doors.
However, all of it is going to take action. All of it is going to require a step by step plan. In fact, you might have heard of Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The first habit discussed in the book is to be proactive. Being proactive means recognizing our responsibility to make things happen. The people who reach their goals of sobriety are those that have taken responsibility for where they are now and where they want to be – sober. They took action by seeking out drug abuse help. They continued to take action by staying committed to their sobriety, even after a relapse.
It’s important to note that you shouldn’t be hard on yourself if you’re not taking action. You can simply note that you’re not doing what you want to do and ask yourself what’s getting the way. Doing this might reveal what your inner obstacles are. Then, the greater challenge might be to charge forward anyway despite the inner blocks. Certainly, seeking drug abuse help isn’t easy, but if you can take this step for yourself, you might have a completely new life in six months – a life that is clean, sober, and healthy.
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