RAW Recovery Podcast

What Is Success in Recovery?

Success in recovery isn’t measured by time, titles, or how “put together” someone looks. It’s not perfection, constant happiness, or the absence of struggle. Real success in recovery is quieter — and far more meaningful.

Success is waking up sober. It’s telling the truth when lying would be easier. It’s asking for help instead of disappearing. It’s taking responsibility for your life, one day at a time.

UNCOMFORTABLE DOESN’T MEAN WRONG

Welcome to The Daily Trudge.

Today is Day 2 of Newcomer Week, and we’re talking about something that trips a lot of people up early on: discomfort. Early sobriety often feels awkward, emotional, restless, and unfamiliar. That doesn’t mean you’re failing — it means your body and mind are adjusting.

Many people mistake “this feels bad” for “this isn’t working.” Today we slow that down and talk about w...

Welcome to The Daily Trudge.

Today we’re starting Newcomer Week with a simple truth that saves lives: you don’t have to understand recovery to stay sober. In early sobriety, confusion is normal. Before clarity comes, there is a physical change that has to settle — what we often call Step 0.

If your mind feels foggy, restless, or overwhelmed, that doesn’t mean you’re failing. It means you’re early.

This is a pressure-free space to h...

God Centered Recovery

Today’s conversation is rooted in Proverbs 8:11–14.

We talked about wisdom, pride, and why recovery isn’t about being smart — it’s about getting the mind sober. Pride rushes. Wisdom pauses. And most of the trouble we’ve experienced came from ignoring what we already knew.

“You don’t get wise until your mind gets sober.”

Take what you need. Leave the rest.

🔔 Subscribe for more Daily Sobriety Motivation: https:...

Total acceptance doesn’t mean approval. It doesn’t mean liking what happened, agreeing with it, or pretending it didn’t hurt. In recovery, total acceptance means stopping the fight with reality — because fighting what already is keeps us sick.

Most of our suffering doesn’t come from what happened. It comes from arguing with it, replaying it, resenting it, or wishing it were different. Total acceptance is the turning point where we ...

Accountability isn’t about punishment, shame, or someone watching over us. In recovery, accountability is about ownership — owning our thoughts, our actions, our motives, and our part. It’s the point where honesty stops being theoretical and starts becoming practical.

We don’t grow by blaming the past, other people, or our circumstances. We grow when we’re willing to look at ourselves without excuses and take responsibility for wha...

Forgiveness isn’t something we arrive at naturally. Most of us come into recovery carrying resentment, anger, and old wounds that feel justified. And for a long time, they probably were. But recovery shows us something uncomfortable and freeing at the same time: resentment costs us more than it costs anyone else.

The Big Book doesn’t tell us to forgive because it’s nice or noble — it tells us to forgive because it’s necessary. Hold...

We hear a lot of talk about moderation, willpower, motivation, and mindset — but recovery asks a harder, more honest question: what about the real alcoholic?

The real alcoholic isn’t lacking information. They aren’t weak. They aren’t morally broken.

They suffer from a condition that makes self-management impossible once alcohol enters the picture.

In this Daily Trudge, we slow things down and talk plainly about what the Big Book ac...

Most of us don’t feel like miracles. We feel tired. We feel unsure. We feel like we’re just barely holding it together some days. But recovery teaches us something powerful: the miracle isn’t that life became perfect — the miracle is that we’re still here, sober, honest, and willing.

We didn’t arrive in recovery strong. We arrived broken, exhausted, and out of options. And yet, somehow, here we are — breathing, showing up, learning...

Faith alone doesn’t keep us sober. Neither does knowledge, meetings, or good intentions. Recovery happens when faith gives us direction, the blueprint shows us how, and the work turns it into action.

The Big Book is clear: belief without action doesn’t change our lives. We are given a spiritual solution, laid out step-by-step, and then asked to live it — daily, imperfectly, and honestly. This isn’t about hype, emotion, or shortcuts...

“A Vision for You” isn’t a promise of an easy life — it’s a promise of a different way to live. It speaks directly to the alcoholic who feels hopeless, exhausted, and unsure whether anything can truly change. This chapter doesn’t minimize the pain of alcoholism; it tells the truth about it — and then offers hope grounded in experience, not theory.

The vision isn’t about perfection, instant peace, or escaping reality. It’s about fre...

For a lot of us in recovery, relationships have always been one-sided. We either took too much, gave too much, or stayed far longer than we should have out of guilt, fear, or obligation. Sobriety doesn’t just change our relationship with alcohol — it forces us to take an honest look at how we relate to people.

Healthy relationships aren’t built on rescuing, chasing approval, or constant self-sacrifice. They’re built on reciprocity ...

For a lot of us in recovery, relationships have always been one-sided. We either took too much, gave too much, or stayed far longer than we should have out of guilt, fear, or obligation. Sobriety doesn’t just change our relationship with alcohol — it forces us to take an honest look at how we relate to people.

Healthy relationships aren’t built on rescuing, chasing approval, or constant self-sacrifice. They’re built on reciprocity ...

One of the most difficult parts of recovery isn’t getting sober — it’s what happens after. Sobriety removes the filter. The numbness is gone, and suddenly we find ourselves living in a world of truth. That can feel overwhelming, raw, and hard to manage.

In addiction, we avoided truth. Alcohol softened reality, blurred emotions, and gave us escape. Recovery does the opposite. It brings clarity, honesty, and awareness — and with that...

This episode of The Daily Trudge was originally recorded on May 31st, 2021, and is being shared again as a throwback while new live episodes are on pause.

In this reflection, we talk about courage — not the loud, chest-puffing kind, but the quiet, hard-earned courage that comes from survival. The kind of courage learned in addiction, refined in recovery, and redirected toward usefulness and service.

This episode touches on open and...

This episode of The Daily Trudge was originally recorded on May 9th, 2021, and it’s being shared again as a throwback during a short break from live episodes.

In this reflection, I talk openly about triggers, family boundaries, emotional fallout, and how even years into sobriety, old wounds can still surface. Recovery doesn’t make us immune to life — it teaches us how to walk through it without drinking, even when things hit deeper...

Most of us didn’t get sober because life was going well. We got sober because alcohol stopped working and the cost became too high. But what keeps us sober isn’t fear — it’s discovering what sobriety actually gives us. Over time, sobriety stops feeling like a loss and starts revealing itself as a gift.

The gift of sobriety isn’t perfection, comfort, or a pain-free life. It’s clarity. It’s choice. It’s the ability to show up, feel, ...

Recovery isn’t just about not drinking — it’s about becoming useful again. For a long time, our lives revolved around chaos, self-centeredness, and survival. Alcohol promised relief but delivered isolation. What the program offers instead is something deeper and steadier: a sane and happy usefulness.

Sanity doesn’t mean life is perfect. Happiness doesn’t mean we’re always comfortable. Usefulness doesn’t mean we’re indispensable. It...

In this episode of God Centered Recovery, Roger McDiarmid and Dion Miller take a hard look at Proverbs 8:11–14 and what it reveals about pride, desire, and decision-making in recovery.

This passage reminds us that wisdom is more valuable than anything we want — and addiction thrives on choosing desire over wisdom. Together, Roger and Dion explore how prudence, humility, counsel, and sound judgment play a critical role in staying gr...