According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the definition of “recovery” from substance use disorder (SUD) is a working definition. It is designed to be flexible and change as new research affects how we view the recovery process. In the same way, the meaning of recovery also changes based on the individual. Your recovery journey is unique from anyone else’s, and because of this, your recovery goals will also be unique to you. Setting realistic goals that align with your definition of recovery from SUD will set you up for a successful and lasting recovery journey.
The Importance of Setting Realistic Goals
Setting realistic goals is important for a few reasons. One is that reaching goals can boost self-confidence and self-esteem, both of which are factors in a successful recovery. Many people who have SUD, whether they are seeking professional help or not, have extremely low self-worth. You may feel like you are worthless or like you can’t accomplish anything. This may be a result of past failures in trying to get sober or other life events. Thoughts and feelings like these discourage you from seeking help and can make the recovery process more difficult. Successful and lasting recovery requires dedication, active participation, and confidence that you are able to make changes.
A boost in self-esteem through achieving goals can also help you believe that you deserve to get better. Often, people struggling with SUD don’t attempt to get help because they don’t feel they deserve help. You may feel like your situation is your fault, so you shouldn’t reach out to others to help you fix it. These thoughts and feelings are common, but they are neither true nor helpful. Often, SUD has strong genetic and environmental components that are outside of your control. Even if it were true that your addiction is entirely your fault, that doesn’t mean that you don’t deserve help and support from others. Everyone deserves to be lifted up and supported when they need it most. You may need a boost to your self-esteem in order to believe this, and setting realistic goals is a great way to do that.
Setting realistic goals is also a great way to measure progress throughout recovery. It’s easy to feel that you aren’t getting anywhere or that recovery is always “one step forward and two steps back.” Often, recovery from SUD feels that way because the progress is difficult to measure. Setting realistic goals and celebrating when you reach them will give you a sense of the progress you’re making, even if the steps are very small. This can give you the motivation and determination to continue your journey. There are often setbacks and rough patches in a healing journey, but in those difficult times, you can lean on the knowledge that you can and have made noticeable improvements.
What Are Realistic Goals in Recovery?
Realistic goals in recovery from SUD look very different from goals you might set in other areas of your life. These aren’t your “New Year’s resolution” type goals, which are often lofty and long-term. For example, in your professional life, you might set a goal like this: “I want to get promoted within the next five years.” While this goal is probably achievable, you most likely aren’t going to write down a step-by-step guide on how to achieve it. With goals like this, it’s the intention behind setting it that matters, not so much the execution.
In SUD recovery, realistic goals are often small, short-term, and have clear steps to achieving them. They’re much more bite-sized than a New Year’s resolution. That’s because you want to make your recovery goals things you can actually achieve. They should be challenging, and they should push you to become a better version of yourself, but setting yourself up for failure will only hurt your self-esteem.
Execution of your goals is also crucial in recovery. The intention behind them is important because it shows that you are dedicated to your recovery process. However, thinking in-depth about the execution is what will lead you to tangible progress.
If you’re having trouble getting started, here are some examples of setting realistic goals for SUD recovery:
- Attend one recovery-related session every week
- Find a new sober activity to engage in with loved ones by next weekend
- Spend one hour a day channeling your passionate and creative side
- Set aside $10 every week for a sober anniversary gift
- Go on one job interview by the end of the month
- Spend ten minutes every morning practicing mindfulness and meditation
If these goals feel too big for you right now, that’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with starting small and working up to something more challenging. Maybe for right now, your goal could just be to get through the day without using.
How to Identify and Engage in Setting Realistic Goals
In order to identify realistic goals and engage in setting them, you should establish a list of criteria for your goals. A common and helpful mnemonic device is SMART. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. These five adjectives should all be applicable to any goal that you set for yourself in recovery. This approach was originally developed in 1981 as a business strategy to make employees more productive and boost morale. In the following decades, the mnemonic was found to be applicable to many areas, including addiction recovery. Let’s look at each aspect of SMART in more detail.
Specific: The goal should be as specific as possible. For example, a non-specific goal would be “I want to become the best version of myself.” While the thought behind that statement is positive, it isn’t specific enough for you to know how to achieve it. A better goal would be “I want to start attending therapy sessions once a week.” This goal gives you a clearer path forward because it uses concrete language and focuses on the action as opposed to the end result.
Measurable: You should be able to tell if you’re making progress towards your goals, and it should be clear when you’ve achieved it. The goal “I want to become the best version of myself” isn’t measurable because it is unclear what the best version of yourself looks like. That isn’t something you can easily measure. However, “I want to attend therapy sessions once a week” is measurable. If you attend a therapy session this week, you have made progress toward your goal. However, if you miss a week, that may be a setback.
Achievable: One of the biggest factors in realistic goal setting is whether or not the goal is achievable. Setting goals that are too lofty or ambitious will set you up to fail. It’s important to remember that at this time in your life, you are most likely vulnerable and in need of support. Huge goals like “I want to be CEO of my own company within a year” are probably not realistic or achievable right now, and that’s okay. During this period of your life, the most important thing is making small steps to improve your mental and physical health.
Relevant: The goals you set in recovery should be relevant to your mental, physical, social, and spiritual needs. Above all else, they should steer you towards a path of sustained, long-term sobriety and wellness. The worst goals are ones that work directly against your recovery, such as reconnecting with friends you used to use with. Setting goals that are relevant to the life you want to lead will keep you focused throughout the recovery process.
Time-Bound: Your goals should have a specific timeframe for you wish to achieve them. For example, “I want to have a more open and honest relationship with my mom by the end of the year.” This time frame can help with accountability and focus. It can also make progress easier to measure. If you meet the goal before the timeframe has passed, then you prove to yourself that you’re even more capable than you thought. On the other hand, not reaching your goal within the timeframe lets you know that your progress may be a bit slower in this area. This can help you set more realistic and achievable goals in the future.
Beyond Setting Realistic Goals: The Dynamics of Progress Monitoring
After you’re done setting realistic goals for recovery, it’s time to pursue them. Recovery is a long process, often life-long, and it is full of obstacles and stumbling blocks. This is why setting small, realistic goals is so important in recovery. With professional support, you can take small, manageable steps toward wellness that will build a framework for lasting recovery.
Along the way, you should monitor your progress with the help of your care team. This may include physicians, therapists, and addiction specialists. Rancho Recovery believes in a goal- and measurement-based approach to recovery, which has shown great results in SUD treatment. This means that you will regularly revisit your goals and discuss your progress with your care team, who will be monitoring and measuring your progress closely. The measurement method will vary based on the goals you set.
Tracking substance use is also a good way to stay accountable and track your progress with SUD recovery. To do this, drug tests may be performed randomly or at regular intervals. Similarly, other assessments may be administered to measure the progress of co-occurring disorders, quality of life, and risk factors. Many of these assessments are self-reported and rely on honesty from the person being assessed. Others, however, are based on the perceptions of the test administrator and their professional findings. These assessments are not meant to shame you or catch you in a lie; they are simply tools to help measure your progress throughout recovery.
Your progress is not only defined by how often you reach your goals, however. Progress can also be shown through increased daily functioning, treatment satisfaction, and overall sense of well-being. Our goal is not only to help you get sober but to increase your quality of life.
Overcoming Setbacks and Recommitting to Realistic Goals
Setbacks are a normal and often beneficial part of recovery. It’s important to recognize the benefits of setbacks in order to deal with them in a healthy way when they arise. Failures, relapses, and mistakes can:
- Reveal holes in your treatment plan
- Bring issues to light that you weren’t aware of before
- Serve as building blocks for new lessons that will serve you well throughout recovery
- Teach you things about yourself and your identity, which can lead to deeper self-understanding and self-compassion
- Help you gain a more realistic view of the recovery process
Setbacks may come in the form of a small failure, like failing to meet a goal. In other cases, they may be more serious, like a relapse. Different setbacks will elicit different emotions. Remember, your emotional reactions are valid, but it’s important not to let them control what you do next. You may be tempted to throw in the towel completely and admit defeat. This is actually a defense mechanism to protect yourself from accepting responsibility and prevent future failures. Instead, you should get back on the wagon, as they say.
The first step to overcoming a setback is acknowledging that it happened and how it makes you feel. Allow yourself to view your reaction without judgment. Don’t push your thoughts and feelings away, but pay attention to them and question them. Perhaps even record them in writing to discuss later with a therapist or someone in your support system.
The next step is taking responsibility for what happened. Humans make mistakes, and you are allowed to be human even in recovery. Taking responsibility for a setback doesn’t mean feeling ashamed; it simply means acknowledging that what you did was wrong or unhealthy. Think about what you wish you had done instead and how that would have led to a different outcome. It’s also worth thinking about external factors that led to the setback. Often, we are influenced by our surroundings and must manage our environment to avoid setbacks. This is a cornerstone of relapse prevention, which is a skill you will learn in treatment at Rancho Recovery.
After you have come to terms with the situation, taken responsibility for it, and learned from it, you’ll be in a better place to recommit to your goals. You should revisit your current goals and review them through the lens of this current setback. Do you believe your goals are still SMART? If not, there’s no shame in revising them to make them more realistic. It may be helpful to do this with the help of a trusted friend, family member, or counselor. An outside perspective can help you craft achievable goals that fit your needs during the recovery process.
Learning How to Reduce Setbacks at Rancho Recovery
At Rancho Recovery, we believe in setting realistic goals that aid in your journey to heal your mind, body, and spirit. We know that SUD takes its toll on you, your relationships, and your future. Reaching out for help is the first step to healing and reclaiming your life.
After that, though, the real work begins. Recovering from SUD isn’t as easy as setting goals and reaching them. You will experience setbacks along the way. With the support and guiding hand of our caring staff, you can learn to reduce these setbacks. Through counseling, group therapy, and educational workshops, you’ll learn to identify and avoid triggers, which can prevent relapses. You’ll also go more in-depth into setting realistic goals that will be achievable and fulfilling for you. Through counseling, you can build a deeper sense of self-connection. This can help you to identify when and why you might be headed toward a recovery setback.
If you’re here, you’re in the right place to start your recovery journey. Our team at Rancho Recovery serves our community in Southern California, as well as those across the nation who are struggling with SUD. We believe that everyone deserves a chance to turn over a new leaf. With our combination of individualized care plans and evidence-based treatment modalities, we feel confident that you’ll find peace and healing with us. We offer residential and outpatient treatment, as well as aftercare services. Recovery is unique for everyone, so you need a unique treatment approach to foster lasting recovery. Take the first step toward sustained wellness. Call Rancho Recovery at (877) 484-1447.