From Sobriety To Recovery: An Addiction Recovery Podcast

Ep #314: Neuro-Linguistic Programming. If you are a mentor, life or addiction recovery coach, and/or sponsor - this episode is the message you have been waiting for. You know how you talk to people and you feel like your message isn't getting across? The main problem is that we can not force someone to act. We can not make that horse drink. We know, deep inside, "You cannot shame someone into action, only inspire them into change" ...

Ep #313: Self-awareness is a beautiful thing, but you want to monitor how you experience it: first-person through your own eyes, second-person through another person's eyes, or third-person through that observer's eyes. When we go to make a change, we experience that part of ourselves through one of these points of view. That starting, stopping, and changing we seek in our lives will attach itself to a secondary gain that we may no...

Ep #312: Procrastination will eat alive from the insides. What is it that you are really procrastinating from doing? You might think it is starting the thing, doing the thing, changing the thing, or stopping the thing - but upon further review, there is a lot more at play when we postpone the starting, doing, changing, or stopping the thing that we have been thinking, feeling, and probably ruminating on for quite a bit of time.

In ...

Ep #311: This week, I celebrate the conclusion of my 8th year of sobriety and begin to trek into year 9! There are so many topics I want to bring to you over this first stretch of the year, and today's is dear to my heart. 

When are you now willing to risk what is comfortable and known for the uncomfortable and unknown? The comfort zone that was less comfortable than habitual is what led us into this room together.

Whether new to s...

Ep #310: Happy New Year. I'm not going to roll out the same "New Year, New You," trope I've done in the past and you've heard before. If you are on Day 1 or some days into your journey, you might be wondering how on earth you will figure out how to create your new life with so many or so few options (all subjective to your mindset and perspective). 

Today, I will iron out the system I created to help me figure out what's important ...

Ep #309: We have all lost something. Something that mattered so much to us we thought we could never go on, never be the same, never heal. The agony of defeat when we tried the first time to quit. The disappointment we feel in ourselves when we let people down - ourselves, most importantly. 

Inside all of us are many, many voices that talk to us, tell us what to do, lie to us, support us, and are with us all the time because they a...

Ep #308: It's the end of the year, and I'm in the mood to talk recovery. Whether you are seeking to make a massive change, like sobriety, or take another step in your recovery, like physical activity, honest communication, or putting your mind to advancing your career, there are steps you can take and a mindset to cultivate. 

Anyone who has motivated themselves toward massive growth will attest to breaking down larger-than-life goa...

Ep #307: You know how you look around and get a bit upset at yourself for the life you have created, the situation you are in, or how you behave? The problem you circle back to again and again and again and again is that you are not happy about certain aspects of your life, and you think that if you beat yourself up enough times, you will FINALLY get it right and start doing the right thing or something else that will change it all...

Ep #306: Life is full of choices. You choose what to do. You choose how to react. You choose how to respond. You choose what to do with your time. Sobriety does not promise anything other than an opportunity to better your life without the weight of a hangover, daily addictive behaviors, and the constant rationalizing of your actions as being okay even though you know they are not okay. You can say, "I can't," all you want, and tha...

Ep #305: In this episode, I converse with a dear friend, and we discuss how his rock bottom propelled him through the most challenging parts of his life, how AA and Buddism guided his path, and how he grounds himself as he accepts the consequences of his actions and finds solace in one ending, creating a new beginning.

Just hit play, and let's dive in with open minds and hearts—you are in the right place, at the right time—right no...

Ep #304: Wasted time or a wasted life? We can often start sobriety with much animosity toward the world and what it did to us that led us down this path of active addiction. As personal responsibility begins to take hold of you, you'll find that you start to accept responsibility for your actions. As that unfolds, you may then get angry with yourself for all the time you wasted being wasted. This energy can destroy your early enthu...

Ep #303: Recovery is about balancing the long-term goal of "I'll never use again" with the daily focus of "one day at a time." Focusing on what can be controlled today is crucial, as sobriety is a personal choice only you can make. Every day presents an opportunity to take responsibility for that choice, and that's where real change happens - today. But we want to have our eyes on the future and how our decisions and actions today ...

Ep #302: Self-doubt, often fueled by past mistakes and negative self-talk, can really mess with your motivation, leading to feelings of anxiety and isolation. When those feelings take over, it’s easy to fall back into old habits, making sobriety even more challenging. We’ll talk about how self-doubt can become a trigger for relapse and, more importantly, how to stop it in its tracks. From shifting your mindset to using positive sel...

Ep #301: Today, I'll explore a range of recovery programs and explain how each can help you on your path to sobriety. From the spiritual roots of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) to the science-based approaches of SMART Recovery and LifeRing, I cover the strengths and benefits of these diverse strategies. I also dive into faith-based options like Celebrate Recovery and mindfulness-focused programs like Refuge ...

Ep #300: Seven years of sobriety and 300 episodes later, I've learned some powerful lessons, and the first one is that it's all about progress, not perfection. We don't need to be perfect; it's the progression we seek, and to manifest progress, we must keep showing up.

Mindset is everything—how you think determines how you live. Shifting from a fixed to a growth mindset changed everything for me, and it can be for you, too.

Emotion...

Ep #299: Positivity. We all have a different relationship with this word, with this energy, with this notion that optimism and a positive attitude are the keys to experiencing a life with happiness, contentment, and gratitude. Even those three words can conjure an infinite amount of thoughts, feelings, and actions from each of us. 

So, this week, I am diving into why I have long believed, long felt, and long released positive energ...

Ep #298: Is sobriety a punishment? This question was asked of a member of my Wise Mind Empowerment and Recovery Tribe, which meets on Slack. When I read this, my mind swirled with so many topics, as I have been asked this question many times when I speak at addiction recovery centers.

What is the answer? Well, if there were a clearly defined explanation or solution to this thought process, we'd be robots and not the amazingly infin...

Ep #297: We're diving deep into what it takes to change your life and stay sober. First and foremost, you have to want to change. No one can make you do it but yourself. Most of the hard work happens when nobody's around to cheer you on. It's in those quiet moments that real progress is made.

Remember, you're moving forward even when it feels like you're going backward. Just because others seem to be zooming ahead doesn't mean you'...

Ep #296: Long-time listeners will hear a vulnerability in me that I do not often expose while I am still going through emotional turmoil. New listeners, this is not how the show usually goes. Today I am going to use the show as therapy and talk to y'all about sadness and depression I have felt this whole month. Maybe you will hear something that helps. Perhaps I will expose something that helps me. Either way, essential for me to e...