In childhood, I fell in love with the game of basketball. I would gather friends after school and on weekends to play for hours. I found basketball gave me an escape from the messiness of life and it provided meaning and purpose for me.
When I could not gather friends to play I practiced my craft in the driveway of my home. There was a lot of concrete space and a state-of-the-art plastic fiber backboard. Most of my friends had a corrugated backboard which was not as good as mine. In fact, my friends always wanted to play at my house.
I would shoot from a spot on the driveway until I made it. Then I would move to another spot shooting until I made it. I practiced most days in order to improve my skills. By practicing each day I became good enough to play at the college level.
When I played at the college level it began to take a great deal of effort to remain motivated. College basketball was very competitive and for that reason, it was not as enjoyable. Despite being less engaged in the game I showed up for practice and gave everything I had to contribute to the team’s success.
Recovery has taken me on a similar trajectory that basketball did. At the beginning of Recovery, I was extremely motivated to follow a plan of Recovery. The plan included clean eating, exercise, attending support groups, seeing a psychiatrist, going to therapy, writing, social connection, and walking with God.
After several years in Recovery, the routine gets a little old. There are moments when my motivation to work on my recovery plan is not easy. For example, some days I prefer to forgo my daily exercise. During different moments in my life, I have stopped working on my Recovery plan. For example, stop attending a weekly support group. When I did this my symptoms returned and were very intense.
The moral of my story is whether it was basketball or Recovery there are days when practicing the skills are difficult to sustain. However, repetition, consistency, and showing up make us SuperHuman Beings. Be Bold, Be Imperfect, Be Human, and Recover. Never give up! Keep hope alive!
Peace
Larry
email: ljw@superhumanbeing.net
website: https://superhumanbeing.net/