Recovery Enthusiast/ Recovery for Women

Would you like to have a stronger, happier relationship? Happiness in a relationship is the result of several small things done on a daily basis. These small tasks are within your capabilities. A little time and attention can grow your relationship into a great source of happiness for both of you.   Strengthen your relationship each day by following these strategies of happy couples:   1.      Confront each other effectively. No relationship is free from disagreements. The most important issue is how those disagreements are handled. Handle your disagreements quickly and fairly. Address behaviors and forget about personal insults. Seek to find a resolution rather than proving who is right or wrong. 2.      Have compatible goals. Is your dream to travel the world, never staying in one place for more than a few months? Is your partner's dream to have five kids and live in her hometown, having dinner with her parents every ni...

Below is an excerpt from my article Coping with Personal Change. If you are interested in reading the whole article please comment below with your email and I will send it to you for free!  Coping with Personal Change   Changes often bring with them a feeling of fear, panic, or grief, followed by denial, and finally, acceptance. Such reactions are common in someone who has just lost a loved one or gotten fired from his job.     In the case of a loved one’s death, grief is important. If you refrain from grieving, you block your transformation, and with it, your return to normalcy. Coming to terms with your loss is important and may help prevent long-term depression.   ”If you don’t get what you want, you suffer; if you get what you don’t want, you suffer; even when you get exactly what you want, you still suffer because you can’t hold on to it forever. Your mind is your predicament. It wants to be free of change. Free of pain, free of the obliga...

Fresh starts take place in your life every day. If there's something you're doing for the first time, you can consider that a fresh start. The term "fresh start" has a warm, exciting sound to them, but the reality is that something new isn't always something you look forward to.   How can you make the most of a fresh start – especially when it's proving difficult?   What you might need to wrap your mind around is the fact that an unfamiliar position or situation serves as an opportunity for you to utilize talents you never knew you had. It gives you the chance to challenge yourself and see just what you're made of. Are you ready to do that?   Here are some tips to help you make the most of your fresh start:   1.      Embrace it with an open mind. As scary as your fresh start may seem at first, it's really important that you embrace it with an open mind. You've likely seen situations in the past that turned out to be only half as ...

Of all the valuable skills you’ll acquire, learning to deal effectively with discomfort is one of the most important. Consider all the times you’ve wanted to do something but either never started or came up short. It’s likely that your inability to handle the resulting discomfort was the cause.   If you could handle discomfort better, you would never procrastinate, never quit a diet, exercise every day, and complete everything you ever wanted to accomplish.   Most of us avoid discomfort at all costs. It’s the biggest limiting factor for most people. But, a little discomfort can be a good thing. Even a lot of discomfort is a good thing if you want to change your life quickly.   Unfortunately, avoiding discomfort quickly becomes a habit. You instantly feel better when you evade the thing that’s causing the discomfort. It becomes a preferred coping mechanism. It also self-imposes limits.   The good news is you can free yourself from these limits!   The ke...

Here are some points to ponder, reflect, and even make part of your mantra!   I love when something new comes into my life. New relationships, experiences, and successes all provide a new lease on life for me. Newness brings the feeling of excitement to me and gives more meaning to my existence.   I love getting new challenges and responsibilities at work. They give me a chance to pull on my core strengths. I get the opportunity to prove myself worthy of any promotion which flashes in front of me. Starting a new project at work is like getting that second wind.   Whenever I make a long-awaited purchase, I get so excited to take it home with me. Such experiences take me back to childhood and receiving gifts at Christmas. But I am even more excited as an adult because I see my hard work paying off.   Changing the paint on the walls in my home always makes me feel like a different person. I believe that colors inspire emotion, and I love the emotions that run t...

Do you struggle to rise above any life challenges that come your way? Maybe you’ve gone from having plenty of money and a big house to living from paycheck to paycheck in a small apartment. Or perhaps you’ve experienced the loss of a relationship that devastated you, but you’ve been able to bounce back and continue to live the life of your dreams.  However, if you find yourself feeling stuck looking back wistfully to earlier years and wishing things could have remained “that way,” you’re probably living in the past.   If you notice you still suffer a lot of emotional pain over an upsetting event you experienced long ago, you might be stuck in your history and unable to move forward.  Although some would argue, “What’s so bad about living in the past,” the fact is that doing so means the present—your reality—is flying by without you grabbing on to it to move forward and achieve your life aspirations.  You’re living in the past if:   1.   ...

The one thing you can be sure of in life is that there will be times when you’re thrown a curveball. Something will happen that you aren’t expecting.  Even though you know you’ve got the strength to handle anything that life brings you, you might still be taken aback by an unexpected change in your life direction.   These suggestions will help you successfully handle some of life’s transitional times:   1.      Take a deep breath. Pause for a moment and give yourself time just to breathe. This one crucial step can psychologically change your state from a “fight or flight” response to a more slowed down cognitive processing state. 2.      Process the information. Next, allow yourself some time to think through what’s happened. This might take a few days, depending on your situation. From your perspective, what occurred? What is the lesson to learn? What is the challenge/opportunity that you gain utilize from this? 3. ...

 Perhaps you’ve developed a habit of remaining in your comfort zone. It’s easy to do. Yet, you’ve also lately wanted to try some new things and meet some new friends. Rest assured that your life will become much more interesting when you decide to leave your safe zone behind you.   Ponder these points about breaking out of your comfort zone:   1.      Remaining in your comfort zone for too long robs you of growing. When you stretch yourself a bit, you’ll find yourself reaching out as a tree toward the sun. ·        If you get too comfortable and rarely try to do anything new, how will you grow? 2.      Making one change in your routine can open you up to new experiences. For example, if you usually go to the health club to jog on the treadmill and lift free weights, try a spinning or aerobics class one morning a week instead. 3.      In order to grow, you’re require...

  Your daily rituals ultimately determine the quality of your life. Happy and successful people do different things each day than the average person. And they do those things consistently. This is great news! A few small changes can transform your life, but patience is required. Instead of focusing on big changes, consider making a few minor adjustments.   The odds of successfully making a change is much higher when that change is small.   Effective habits result in a more productive life:   1.      Make yourself a priority. We’ve all been taught to worry about others. Self-sacrifice is viewed as altruistic and noble. But you’re important, too. Give your emotional and physical health the priority it deserves. You’ll then be in a better position to help yourself and others. 2.      Set one or more goals each day. If you don’t have an objective for the day, you’re much less likely to make the most of it. It feels go...