Having realistic and well-defined goals can help a person throughout the recovery process. Setting goals with the SMART formula can give people the best chance at success.
Addiction recoveryis a long process that is marked by many milestones. Setting goals can help a person move from one stage to the next without getting stuck. The main goal during recovery is to get and stay sober, but this big picture can be broken up into several small goals to make it more manageable. Goals for substance abuse recovery may include enrolling in rehab, finding a doctor, completing a treatment program or joining a support group.
Importance of Goal Setting in Recovery
Recovery can be a fresh start. However, change takes time and people won’t magically have a new life after they detox from drugs or alcohol. Goal setting in recovery can help people figure out what they need to do in order to get from where they currently are to where they want to be.
The benefits of setting goals in recovery include:
- Helping someone focus on the present and future
- Not dwelling on the past
- Developing patience and a good work ethic
- Creating a sense of pride when people reach their goals
Further, studies have shown that learning how to set effective goals can help people reduce drinking and drug use.
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Once a person begins their sober journey, they may find that they have more time, money and energy to do new things. They may want to start developing new skills and trying new things as a part of their new lifestyle. Recovery goals don’t necessarily only include plans related to sobriety. They can also include goals that apply to different areas of life, such as personal relationships, getting a job, spirituality or improving one’s financial health.
Step-by-Step Goal Setting
People in recovery can use step-by-step goal setting to increase their chances of success. Before a person decides on any goals, it’s helpful to first do a little bit of reflection. People should think about what they like in their current life, what they would like to be different, what new things they hope to get in the future and how they would like to be spending their time. Each person’s addiction recovery goals will probably be a little bit different; it’s okay if one person’s goals aren’t the same as another person’s.
One helpful tool for recovery is SMART goals. SMART is an acronym that stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. When people set goals using this formula, they are more likely to take actions that help them get where they want to go.
Step 1: Specific
Step 2: Measurable
Step 3: Achievable
Step 4: Relevant
Step 5: Time-Bound
Sticking to Your Recovery Goals
Making goals is the easy part. Sticking to goals can be much harder. Luckily, there are many things a person can do to help stay on the right path.
First, it is important not to be too ambitious. If someone tries to reach too many goals all at once, they will probably fail. Sticking to just a couple of goals at a time makes a person less likely to burn out and more likely to be successful.
One easy trick for sticking to goals is to write them down. Putting them in writing makes them easy to keep track of and often helps people be more likely to achieve them. For example, people can write a deadline on a calendar so that they can be reminded of it.
When people surround themselves with others who aresupportive, they are often more likely to reach their goals. Two people can try being accountability partners and provide each other with encouragement. Someone can also ask their loved ones to check in with them to make sure they are working towards their goal. For example, a person who wants to stay sober may ask their loved ones to have them to do random drug tests. If the person in recovery knows that they could be tested at any time, they may be less likely to relapse.
Successful recovery from addiction involves being flexible. Not reaching a particular goal isn’t necessarily a failure. It may just be a sign that a new plan is needed. Also, sometimes other things happen in life that throw a goal off-track. For example, if someone gets sick, they might not be able to keep up with a habit as well. This is perfectly fine as long as the person is able to get back on track once things return to normal.
