Why Create a Vision for Sobriety

Why Create a Vision for Sobriety? In all areas of life, not least your sobriety, it is important to have a clear vision of what you want. I read a post today saying, “start where you want to end” and it really brought home to me the importance of having a clear why, a reason, a vision of what you want your life to look like when you are finally free from the destructive cycle of drinking, so I want to share with you today about why create a vision for your sobriety.

“Everything is created twice, first in the mind and then in reality.” ― Robin S. Sharma.

Visualizing what you want, allowing yourself to dream and create is a wonderful exercise to do, not only because it’s fun and inspiring, but also because it works. It’s not all daydreaming and ‘woo woo’ though, it is also scientifically proven that when you take the time to practice visualizing a goal, a process, an outcome or a dream coming true in your mind, then you have a far greater chance of realizing and achieving what it is that you desire. Musicians, athletes and entrepreneurs do it all the time and that’s because it is such a powerful tool.

Whether you believe in the Law of Attraction or that The Universe has the power to gift you with everything that you want, the truth is that the brain doesn’t know the difference between what you imagine or practice in your mind and what you create in reality. In fact the more you can practice living your sober life in your mind, the more likely you are to be successful, so if you have an idea of what you want your new alcohol free life to look like, then you should start visualizing that alcohol free life you love now.

There are many ways to do this and one way is to create a vision board for your new sober lifestyle. We did this yesterday as part of the group coaching program and we were lucky enough to be taught all about creating a joy board for sobriety by the lovely Julia Davies, life and business coach at The Simplicity Strategist.

A vision board or a joy board as we like to call it, is a collection of images, words, affirmations and anything else you like, that represent your vision for your sobriety. Anything goes here and you can have so much fun, cutting, sticking, drawing, or digitally creating a vision of what you want your new sober life to look like.

There are a couple of rules though. The images you choose need to help you to connect to the emotions you want to feel and once you have created your vision board you must look at it regularly, there is no point in creating a vision for your sobriety and then putting it in a drawer! Use it as motivation and inspiration to keep going and turn to it whenever you feel lost or down or when things get tough.

Your vision board is a beautiful representation of your why, so fill it with as many inspiring images and words as you can. Clare Pooley, author of The Sober Diaries had a vision board next to her bed that she looked at every morning and evening, with an image of her at the launch of her book with her family all smiling and happy around her. She created that vision even before she began writing The Sober Diaries – pretty powerful!

Another way to help you create a vision for your sobriety is through the act of visualizing how your alcohol free lifestyle will be in your mind. You can do this by using guided meditations or visualizations or just sitting in quiet reflection and allowing yourself to daydream. This is daydreaming with a purpose though and when done regularly it is so empowering.

As with creating you vision for your sobriety with the vision board, it is important to really connect to all the emotions and use all your senses. How will your new life smell, taste, feel, sound and look like? Try and create a picture or a movie in your mind, make it vivid, made it bright, beautiful, and loud and go into as much detail as you can.

You can use the power of visualization to help you with a general vision of your alcohol free life and also with specific goals and processes. For example if you want to enjoy a Friday evening and not drink, then visualize the heck out of that evening! What are you doing, wearing, eating? Where are you? Who are you with? How are you feeling? Really focus on having the best alcohol free Friday ever and put all of your energy, thought and imagination into that vision.

Do this now, do this often and make it a part of your daily routine. As with your vision board, you have to turn to this practice regularly. You can’t just visualize once on a random Sunday in May and expect everything to work out.

As the saying goes, “Where focus goes, energy flows”

Also you can’t just wish for something and rely on your visualizations to make the magic happen – you have to work for it. What does that mean?

Well, once you have your vision for your sobriety then you must make an effort to change your behaviour, your habits, your thinking so that they are aligned with your vision. Open your eyes, see the opportunities and have a willingness to try. Connect with all the emotions you experienced in your visualization exercise and use them to inspire and motivate you into action.

If you have visualized waking up sober and refreshed having got through wine o’clock the evening before, then make the effort to try. Put some fresh bedding on your bed, buy something gorgeous and non alcoholic to drink, plan a nice meal or a fun activity, splash out on essential oils for a relaxing bath, learn about getting through cravings or treat yourself to that new book, film or game. It doesn’t matter what you do but you have the power to choose to bring your vision to life, or not.

Remember nothing changes if nothing changes.

Going back to day one again is pants and you can’t expect to be able to experience what it is like to live your vision for sobriety if you don’t make the effort. If you want to stop drinking then you can’t just rely on your vision or your dream to magically make it happen. Tiny steps add up to big results so take that tiny step towards your vision today. Create it and then live it.