4 things I would do if I had to start my recovery journey over again from scratch

I've been in the "active" recovery game for quite a while now, and every time I look back at my journey, I can spot mistakes and see what I was doing wrong or could have done better.

I know this is only natural, and we all go through our transition; this, after all, is the undeniable truth of life...

Mistakes will be made, and all you can do is keep going.

However, the great thing about being part of a bigger whole and having a community around you is being able to learn from other people's mistakes.

So, in the spirit of embracing our mistakes, here are the four things I would have done differently if I started doing counselling, creating courses, or becoming a recovery coach all over again so you don't have to.

I would not have invested so much time in people who ended up not being grateful for the work I was doing. This is the whole reason I do the work that I do. I want to raise good, healthy leaders in our community. Leaders who do not perpetuate the lateral violence that is killing our community

I stayed in school for as long as I could. I heard that when I was halfway through my bachelor’s degree. One person said that people need to stay in school for as long as they can. If I had learned this when I went to school to become a counsellor in 1999, I would have easily had my doctor’s degree by now.

I listened to my sponsor early on in my recovery. He may have been right about some things in this recovery game. Now, after 27 years, I am learning that what he was saying was true, but it took a very, very long time to realize it. I wasn’t trying to say I was different; I just needed to find out for myself. You may find yourself in the same situation after a period of time. Learn the lesson the person is trying to teach you; don’t lose the person, though. None of my relationships over the last 20 years have survived. It feels like they have all ended, so when you find someone who earnestly knows what healing is about and wants to help you, preserve that relationship at all costs.

Pray and meditate every day. Turn your life and your will over to God as soon as possible. When we pray, we seek guidance; when we meditate, we listen for the answers. I meditate now almost every day. God speaks to me through this meditation. I now hear his guidance, but arriving at this point took over 25 years. My hope is that you achieve it in 12.5 years.

Are there things you would do differently if you could start from the beginning?

Let me know in the comments below.