The best indicator if a good day, is a good morning, and the best way to have a good morning is to have a Sober Morning Routine. Below is an awesome six step sober morning routine.
1.REVIEW YOUR GOALS
Set goals you are excited about, and every morning review them. Staying sober is a great goal, but only quitting the drink and doing nothing else isn’t enough for true, long term sobriety. Along with not drinking, a healthy balanced life is necessary for quality sobriety. Set goals in each category of your life: Physical, Spiritual, Emotional and Financial. Your goal list might look like this:
Physical Goals: Lose 10 lbs, by cutting fast food and going on a daily morning walk/run
Financial Goals: Save an extra $200/month for a vacation
Emotional Goal: Stay sober and attend recovery meetings daily
Spiritual Goal: Meditate for 30 minutes a day to reduce anxiety
2.AFFIRMATIONS
Affirmations according to Mindtools.com are “Positive, specific statements that help you to overcome self-sabotaging negative thoughts. They help you visualize, and believe in, what you are affirming to yourself, helping you to make positive changes to your life and career.” Below are sober affirmations to say in the morning and throughout the day:
I AM Sober
I AM Healthy
I AM living happy, sober, joyous and free
I AM Empowered
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3.PRAY AND MEDITATE
If you practice the 12 Steps, then you know the 11th Step is all about prayer and meditation. The way you can access the subconscious mind and improve your conscious contact with your higher power/universe/God is through prayer and meditation. 3 Weeks To Freedom Book says “The conscious mind may set the goals, but it is the subconscious mind achieves them. The conscious mind is the ship, but the subconscious mind is the captain.” Every morning, set a few minutes to sit in silence in meditation. After you’re done with your meditation, pray.
“Praying is talking to God, and Meditation is listening.”
There are so many great meditation apps and guided meditations to use. My favorite meditation app is InsightTimer, and my favorite prayer is the St. Francis Prayer.
“Lord, make me a channel of thy peace,
that where there is hatred, I may bring love;
that where there is wrong,
I may bring the spirit of forgiveness;
that where there is discord, I may bring harmony;
that where there is error, I may bring truth;
that where there is doubt, I may bring faith;
that where there is despair, I may bring hope;
that where there are shadows, I may bring light;
that where there is sadness, I may bring joy.
Lord, grant that I may seek rather to
comfort than to be comforted;
to understand, than to be understood;
to love, than to be loved.
For it is by self-forgetting that one finds.
It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.
It is by dying that one awakens to Eternal Life.”
4.WRITE A GRATITUDE LIST
Your Sober Morning Routine should include a gratitude list. Start by writing out the things in life you are grateful for. A gratitude list can include things like your family, your career, your sobriety, or it can be things we take for granted such as being able to breathe fresh air, our legs, our vision etc. Once you start to realize how many things you really have to be grateful for, it takes you out of selfishness or self pity and into a feeling of gratitude.
5.EXERCISE
You must get your blood flowing. Yoga sun salutations, stretching, running or the gym. What are your health goals? train for a marathon, weight loss? Whatever your health goals may be, incorporate your activity to your morning routine.
“My goal was to run a half marathon. I had not worked out consistently in years, but since I had so much time on my hands and so much more energy, I decided it would be a perfect time. My morning would start with a long walk, and eventually I started jogging, then running. I signed up for a half marathon and it motivated me to keep training. In the process, I lost weight I had been carrying around and I completed a half marathon!” – Shelly 3 Years Sober
6.READ A RECOVERY BOOK
Read a book on recovery for at least 10 minutes each morning. Below are some great and inspiring sobriety books:
Adding these six steps to your Sober Morning Routine will set your day in the right direction!