Life is all about celebrating milestones. Weddings, the birth of a child, graduations, all of these are common celebrations that people experience throughout their life. Milestones help us understand how far we’ve come in life. In addiction recovery, celebrating milestones is equally as important. While many people focus on the big milestones it’s also extremely important to celebrate the small ones.
The First Week
An extremely important milestone to celebrate when going through an addiction recovery program is the first week that you are free from your addiction. While it might not seem like a huge triumph, going an entire seven days without drugs, alcohol, or whatever other addiction you may be struggling with is a huge deal. It will be difficult, as your body tries to compensate for the lack of a substance that it has gotten used to. But surviving that entire week means that you can survive another week, and another week…and soon a month…and then you are years free from your addiction.
Learning to Say No
The next big little milestone that you experience in your alcohol recovery journey is when you learn to say no. Temptation is a constant thing and it will be a battle throughout your life in your addiction recovery journey. The first time you truly learn to say no to that addiction is the first step in breaking that control over your life. The first time you say no is the first time that you take your life back in your control. Recognize that success and allow yourself to feel proud of the small things.
Finding Your Identity in Christ
As a Christian recovery center, one of our main goals at Adult & Teen Challenge is to show our students the love of God and help them develop a relationship with Him and learn their identity in Christ. While most people may believe that understanding your identity will be this huge life-stopping moment complete with fanfare and a light descending down from the heavens, oftentimes it’s just a simple revelation that changes your life forever. When you grab ahold of your identity in Christ, your life will never be the same.
