Learning how to set goals in addiction recovery can be an important piece to your healing process. We know that, although challenging, seeking help for your addiction is brave. Additionally, we understand that treatment for your addiction can open doors to help improve your life in many ways. Learning how to set reasonable goals in addiction recovery can be one vital skill for you to focus on in treatment. We believe this skill can help you go on to achieve goals in the future after your treatment has been completed.
Practicing Setting Goals in Addiction Recovery
Setting goals in addiction recovery can be one area in which you put your energy into making positive changes. Setting goals may sound simple; however, many people struggle with setting reasonable goals. Moreover, reasonable goals are important, especially in recovery from addiction. Putting your time and energy into places in your life that can bring positive changes can be rewarding. This can help create a sense of purpose or even confidence in yourself, which can be incredibly empowering. Furthermore, helping men feel empowered is one area we can help focus on in treatment with us at Renaissance Ranch.
Practicing setting goals in treatment can help you to go on and set reasonable goals in life after treatment. The idea behind this is that you will continue to feel empowered throughout your recovery. This can then help you to continue to achieve the goals you have in life. Some examples of goals you may want to work on in treatment could include socializing with your peers in treatment. Socialization with peers can be helpful for many reasons. Setting simple goals like socialization could branch off into more specific goals. You may find a breakdown of “SMART” goals to be a helpful place to start if you need more specific instructions for setting goals.
Utilizing SMART Goals
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), SMART goals are:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-bound
SMART goals could be one way you ensure your goals are reasonable. A generalized example of setting a goal that does not utilize the SMART goal method could be New Year‘s resolutions. Often around this time of year, people start thinking about the goal they set for themselves last year. A common goal that many people share during this time of year is weight loss.
Too often, people set goals that are too general such as “I want to lose weight.” Other times, people set goals that are too ambitious like “I want to lose 100 pounds.” When goals like these are put into place, the outcomes are not typically achieved and can sometimes leave you feeling bad for not achieving your goal. Trying to implement SMART goals could be much more effective.
One reason why knowing how to set reasonable goals in addiction recovery is so important is that you can use this as a skill as you heal. SMART” goals, especially, can be a great way to ensure your ambitions are aligned with your recovery in mind. It is important to make sure that they are also obtainable and not too far out of reach, which could leave you distressed or discouraged later on.
It is important to note that not all goals you set for yourself will always be achieved. There are many factors in life that you do not have control over, which can affect the timeline of your goals. This does not mean you will never achieve the things you set out to do. It just may mean you will need to be flexible and adapt to unexpected circumstances that come up.
Benefits of Setting Goals for Your Long-Term Recovery
We know addiction recovery is a lifelong journey. With this in mind, setting reasonable goals is crucial to your long-term recovery. Our approach can help men turn their lives around, and we believe setting goals and learning how to achieve them is an important piece to the healing journey. Some benefits can include learning how to push yourself in healthy ways to achieve positive outcomes. Another benefit could include learning or accepting when goals do not work out. As previously mentioned, not all goals you set can be achieved. This can sometimes occur when there is something different in our path that is destined to be.
Whether your goal is achieved or not, it can produce an opportunity for you to learn. This is important because addiction recovery can be similar. There can be endless opportunities to learn from and many different circumstances in which you can be presented with choices to give up or to keep trying. We believe treatment at Renaissance Ranch can help prepare you for these moments. You deserve recovery and we believe that if you feel like you are ready to recover, you are capable of doing so.
Addiction treatment is a brave choice to make. While in treatment, we believe learning how to set reasonable goals can be a necessary skill for fostering long-term recovery. Utilizing SMART goals may be a beneficial way to understand how to set goals and achieve them. It is key that you know you may not be able to achieve all the goals you set, but it can present you with an opportunity to learn. Knowing how to set goals along the way can help you adapt to unexpected circumstances and empower you when you can achieve them. Call Renaissance Ranch at (801) 308-8898 for more information on setting reasonable goals in addiction recovery.