Life Coaching has become a revolution. Olympic athletes use coaches. Successful CEO’s have used coaches for quite some time. Entrepreneurs use coaches. Coaching tools can also be beneficial to those in recovery. If you have some recovery under your belt and you find yourself asking what’s next in your life, utilizing coaching principles can be an effective way to move forward. Coaching is a partnership that looks at where you are now, where you want to go, and what needs to happen to close the gap between those two. Here are some tools to utilize in your everyday recovery:

Have a vision for where you are headed. A vision is more than a goal. A goal might be: I have my undergraduate degree in business by June 30, 2022. That goal is clear and measureable. A vision includes the details of what that looks like, feels like, and sounds like when that goal is reality. Imagine in this example writing a journal entry on the day you achieve this goal. What would you write in your journal on your graduation day? What did people say to you? What did you see at your ceremony? What happened as a result of your graduating with honors? How do you feel? A vision lines it all out like painting a picture with words.
Make a list of steps to achieve your goal. Here we are looking at the milestones to hitting your goal. For example, if you have your BA by 6/30/22 that might mean one milestone would be transferring to a university from a community college by 8/1/20. Another might be enrolling in a community college by 6/1/18. Take your time to write your milestone markers. They are like your road map to success. Ideally for a 5 year goal you’ll have at least 2 milestones per year.
Make a list of all the actions you need to take to achieve your first milestone. For example, if your first milestone is to enroll in community college by 6/1/19 there are many steps to take that may include: meet with a counselor to outline the steps, apply for financial aid, buy books, choose classes, buy a computer, and purchase other school supplies.
Create a support team. Make a list of everyone you know who may be able to help you on this journey. A friend in IT may be able to offer suggestions on budget friendly student computers. Another friend who is a college graduate may be able to help you navigate applying for financial aid and scholarships. Know someone else who is starting at the same time as you? You could go enroll for classes together.

One of the gifts of recovery is that we learn we don’t have to do any of this alone. Some people seen to intuitively know how to ask for help. Sometimes we need a little nudge. Here is your nudge. Your goals matter. What you have to contribute matters. Now it’s time to create the life of your dreams one step at a time.

Life coaching can help you create a new story in your life. When you change your story, you change your life. Oceanfront Recovery is a men’s addiction treatment program offering residential and various levels of care. Call us today for information: 877.279.1777