Proven techniques for happiness in sobriety

The host of the Rethink Recovery podcast shares her experience with using feng shui techniques to create positive energy in her home. She emphasizes the importance of changing negative patterns and implementing healthy coping skills in recovery. She encourages listeners to start their fresh start now, rather than waiting for the new year, and to set clear boundaries for themselves. She also discusses the power of forgiveness, both towards others and oneself, and suggests cleaning out cluttered areas in the home to create a sense of renewal. She concludes by encouraging listeners to take action and reflect on what they no longer want in their lives. Hello sober souls. This is episode 2 of Rethink Recovery podcast, a show to level up your sober superpowers, tap into the abundance of happiness your life has to offer, and live your recovery on your terms. I'm Sarah, your sober host, and I'm happy you're here. Let's get started. All of us have the capability to change the way we see ourselves in life, and we have all the answers inside of us to get through life without drinking. No one is better or more deserving. It's all a matter of changing our patterns and implementing healthy coping skills. So I wanted to share with you this process that I've tried out this weekend. I was reading about some feng shui techniques, and one of the exercises was pertaining to getting rid of clutter around your home because it clogs the flow of good energy, right? Real quick, your girl is far from a feng shui house person. I have ADD, depression, anxiety, all the works, right? So I do my best, but seriously, I have needed help in this department my entire life. But I do like tips and techniques to make life easier. I have been working getting myself into a higher vibe lately. I was feeling for a while like I was on the fence, feeling pretty good for a while, and then feeling like a depressed zombie, just kind of somewhere in the middle. I don't know if that makes any sense to anyone, but when I start feeling this way, it's time to get some fresh feeling vibes in, right? And I know the holidays are coming up, so usually fresh start mentality starts after the holidays for the new year, but I think we should start setting ourselves up for success if or when stressful parts of the holiday come around before then. I think this sounds better to me starting now, being consistent, and raising your good energy levels so you can handle stressful situations with more ease. But it's the same intention as a fresh start, new year, new you feeling, right? Opening up possibilities and feelings of excitement, of knowing bigger, better things are in store for you. You just have to decide. You have to decide that I'm going to start right now, this moment, to have better feeling days. This is the time for me to level up my authentic self and sobriety, right? This is the time for me to start to change my life around. This is the time to work on my negative beliefs that are holding me back. This can be your moment, right? This, this can be the time things start to turn around for you. Your fresh start is always available and your abundance of new energy is always in reach. Even if you hate your life or if you hate your job, if people are treating you bad, you hate where you live, you are still the boss and you are always in the driver's seat, my friend. And this can happen at any capacity you choose. What my process was is to start to write down. Yes, with a piece of paper and a pen like the good old days, guys. Writing is relieving and that's a quote I saw on the World Wide Web, so it must be true. Really, pen to paper. I love it. What is it you want to leave behind? This is your time. This is your time to have a fresh start. What are you done with? Put it down on the paper. For me, I'm done with self-doubt and thinking that the same old beliefs are here to stay. I'm done with holding space for people who are potentially hurting my sobriety and I'm done feeling bad because I'm not a super mom that has everything labeled and cooked and cleaned by five o'clock. I'm not here for that shit anymore. I'm done feeling disappointed in myself when I don't do everything according to society's timeline, right? I try to be hard. I tend to be hard on myself. If I don't accomplish everything I feel I need to be doing at that time, I am from here on out unavailable for these thoughts. We have to set clear boundaries for ourselves in sobriety by always taking inventory of things that are no longer serving us. It is a must, must, must, guys, in our recovery journey and always a big one. Forgiveness, guys. Who do you need to forgive? Who is taking up residency in your mind that is making you mad, crazy? Oh, trust me, I know about this but you have to forgive them. I am saying this with a scrunched ass face, very hard to say because I have a mother-in-law that I have so frustratingly have forgiven. I don't talk to her nor do I plan on it. I have no space or tolerance for her but I also have no space to hold anger towards her. You understand? I didn't start to feel warm fuzzy feelings towards her. I pretty much just forgave her thinking to myself, she's miserable, she must be bored and that's the reason for her bad behavior and that's sad. I'm not going to allow my feelings to be her form of entertainment, right? You just got to step away and maybe just give them a reason or, you know, just say they're acting this way because of a certain reason or they don't know any better. They did this because they didn't know any better. That's really good when it comes to forgiving parents as an adult. You got to look back and see they didn't know any better at the time. They did the best that they did with what they were given. I've noticed when I go and look back at the situations that I've been in that I've needed to forgive someone for something. When I step back and I look at it from afar, usually at that time I realized that the person who hurt me was not happy in their own life and didn't know any other way to behave and I don't know who said it but it's rotten fruit falls on its own. Pertaining perfectly to this situation, from my experience, forgiveness has been much more empowering and a freeing positive experience for me, no doubt. I could actually care less what the people would think if they knew I forgave them but it doesn't matter because forgiveness is for me. It's for you. You have to stop blaming people for your feelings. No one has that much power over you, right? You have to look at what you can change in that situation. Send these people vibrational love and get the fuck on with it. Do not be available for shit. Write down everyone you need to forgive and send it off. Take responsibility for your part and move on. It's not worth taking up residency in your mind any longer. Set the intention that you're moving forward. Pray, meditate, sage, rosemary cleanse. I did all of these but whatever you need to do, give yourself so much love and grace and forgive yourself for your wrongs. Forgiving yourself where you stand in your journey right now. Give yourself grace where you're at right now in your recovery journey. You're capable of change right now. So call in your energy. What energy do you want to attract in? And circling back around to the Feng Shui technique. Cleaning out clogged areas that are filled with clutter, getting rid, purging the whole house. Go through all the energy areas that have bad energy that can get trapped and clear it out. Imagine good flow energy in that area. It may sound crazy but it feels so good and renewing. Go find the areas that have just clunks and piles and messes and you know especially those drawers guys. Those drawers and your cabinets. Really go through those things. What can flow through there? I actually go through and take pictures of the areas that have been feeling really ridiculous and overwhelming. It shows me what the hell is really going on in that area that I've been blinded by. This way it motivates me to stay on task, holding me accountable like a visual list which also helps us with ADD guys. It's a great hack to have like a visual list of things that you need to clean in your house. It really keeps you going. Look under the cabinets, inside drawers, corners of your house, hall cabinets, laundry room, visible papers. That one's huge for me because I write everything on paper all at my computer. I'm just writing things down. I don't even use my notes on my computer. You don't have to Marie Kondo your valuables but our things that are cluttered are the physical manifestations of how we feel cluttered and chaotic inside of our mind. This realization has helped me so much when deciding what to get rid of on cleaning. It's much easier to let go of things when you know they're getting in the way of better things to come, right? Doesn't that seem like it would somehow ease the anxiety of getting rid of items when it's usually a difficult decision? Say goodbye and clear it out. Decide the good you want to call in and get clear on what you are done with. Be ready to let things go. Be ready to bring in goodness and beauty all around you. Do what you need to do in your space to reflect that high vibe person you're stepping into and wanting to reflect back to the world. Before we go, let's go over some key takeaways from today's episode, right? Let's write it down guys. Remember, what are you no longer allowing to take up residency in your life? If it's not helping you, it's hurting you. And remember, forgiveness is for you. Take back your emotions so you can start to move the fuck on. Set the intention. Take pictures and get purging. Ask yourself while you're at it, is this thing in the way of better feeling flow? Is it clogging the space for better things to come? Alright guys, that's it. Thank you so much for listening today. Please comment and let me know what you think of this show and what you would like to hear more of. I want this to be a community of sober souls because we are all connected by a common thread. So please subscribe and comment so we can make it easier for other friends in recovery to find us and connect. Alright guys, have a great weekend. Bye.