The Routine I Follow Every Single Day For Alcohol Addiction Recovery

Alcoholism recovery is possible through daily rituals that focus on long-term holistic health. Learn a practical alternative to AA.

BOOKS FOR RECOVERY AND REINVENTION

THE SMALL BOOK: HOW I BEAT ALCOHOLISM AND WHY ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS DOESN'T WORK.

THE SHEPHERD AND THE RUNNINGWOLF: A PATH TO FORGIVENESS ON THE PACIFIC CREST TRAIL

REINVENTION OF SELF: HOW TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE AND BEING FOREVER

John Barleycorn taken from Jack London's book John Barleycorn first published in 1913
Video opinion of creator only not to be taken for medical advice

Transcript

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I've talked a great deal about the reinvention of all your planes of being during your recovery from your former alcoholism, and how my methods are much different than what Alcoholics Anonymous proposes. And stay tuned, and I'll explain what my daily routine of rituals actually is to regain holistic health during your recovery from alcoholism and to keep your state in complete holistic health for the rest of your life. I have written and spoken in depth about how one has to reinvent his physical and emotional plane of being once one ends his friendship with John Barleycorn. This is advice that I not only give those recovering from alcoholism on their way to cure, but anyone who finds himself at the lower levels of the abyss, usually in the later than youthful years. There are those who may be doing very well career-wise, but find themselves in horrific shape in the physical and mental realm, and all the money in the world won't give you vibrancy for life if you're waddling through that life sluggishly. If one wishes to advance himself, the foundation is physical health followed by emotional tranquility. These spheres will come together to enhance the spiritual plane, the completeness one feels knowing he's an integral part of the vast universe. One item I picked up from the great motivational guru, Tony Robbins, is his philosophy of establishing daily rituals. Patterns of behavior designed to give success in life, whether in the realm of financial or holistic health. I have adopted a very ritualistic method I follow to advance all the planes of being. The physical fitness routine is the one that takes time. For me, I spend an hour and 45 minutes practicing Thai boxing and then lifting weights on a two days on, one-off pattern. But I have said in previous episodes, the physical fitness program can be accomplished in 45 minutes to an hour, four to five days a week. An additional 20 minutes is added on to these training days for the emotional program, which I describe as consisting of a regimen of tai chi, yoga, or any type of sitting meditation. The physical and emotional workout feed off each other but in a positive way. It is truly the most effective method to minimize the protracted withdrawal symptoms, which can last up to two years. And the program will continue to serve as a foundation and frame of your new mansion, a structure that will have the strength in its set concrete and solid beams to last the rest of your life. The rest of my rituals are not ones that take much time, but these are daily habits that are focused toward constant advancement of self that is constantly being fed by positive reinforcement. I will share my daily and weekly routine that I use continuously to sharpen the edge of my samurai sword. First, let us contrast the physical and emotional state you were in during that long friendship with John B. If your remembrance is like mine, you were intoxicated every night and suffered the daily withdrawals the second you woke from a jittery and restless sleep. Coffee and Gatorade pushed you through the morning, you ate a half-hearted lunch, and felt like you were in a constant state of lethargy, pushing the last few hours before you hit the liquor store on the way home. All of us former alcoholics live like this, and it's a wonder that our bodies forgive us for the amount of damage we're doing to it on a daily basis. This leads to my contention with the Alcoholics Anonymous program. It's not a program of recovery. It is a program that is physically and emotionally unhealthy. For the rituals of AA are in stark contrast with mine. The ritual there is to go to the meetings. Many who continue to sit in the rooms have been sober for years and decades. That is complete nonsense. The ritual is to ingest unhealthy toxins like nicotine, caffeine, and endless sugar cookies to help combat the cravings. There shouldn't be many cravings once past the protracted withdrawal time if you are following a healthy program of diet and physical fitness activities. The ritual is to reprocess every night of your life as an alcoholic. The ritual is to remind yourself that you are forever diseased and addicted. Those rituals need to be discarded. Once one has surpassed the 45-day mark, which I refer as the completion of phase two in my creative program, which ends in cure at two years, I state to begin the return to physical and emotional fitness. This is where you establish patterns or rituals that serve as small additives throughout the day and week to keep your mental mindset in a constant state of pursuing greatness. They may vary slightly from person to person as we all have different interests and goals, but the basic structure of physical and emotional activities should be universal for all. Whether former alcoholic or not, the rest are what I would call additives toward achievement. I engage in intense exercise on a schedule of two days on and one off. I do this two-on and one-off regimen for mental motivation. For anyone over 30 years old, we'll start to feel the chipping away of will to continue the path of physical fitness. Simply put, we start to get tired as we age. So this way, no matter which day you're on for exercise, you're always close to a break. For by 40, the only thing you want to do after work is sit down in front of Netflix. This is where mental discipline comes to play. You develop a no-negotiation mentality. Some will exercise every other day, which is fine as well, but the days you're scheduled for that run or Zumba class, you go. Many mental obstacles will try to present themselves in your mind on why you shouldn't go. One great motivational guru and former Navy SEAL, Jocka Willink, calls this resistance. The weakness of the mind trying to give you excuses why that Netflix is a better option. I had a bad day at work. I had insomnia last night. It's raining outside, but yet not in the gym. The mind would love to just let the resistance stop you. But you aren't gonna feel any better tomorrow than today to exercise. One tactic I use is to lie down for 20 minutes and get that dozing trickle charge that gives me just enough to get up and go towards that heavy bag, but not enough to keep me from falling asleep that night when I return. This method that I've used for years, I picked up my 57-year-old national powerlifting competitor. I've added that to my rituals on the days I exercise. But you have to engage in physical fitness, whether you're a morning exercise person or prefer after work. You make yourself do it and sit in front of that Netflix on the days off. You simply put the program into your schedule of things you must do, those miles to go before you sleep. I do it in my 50s when it is a guarantee that there is never a day I feel like exercising at my now middle age. The other rituals I complete daily to keep that routine steady. The first thing I do in the morning when I wake up is take a cold shower for about three minutes. Yes, you heard me correctly. I do this ritual for a few reasons. One, to wake up. Two, the cold water is thought to strengthen the immune system. But there are emotional reasons I engage in this uncomfortable daily practice. The few minutes of unpleasantness remind me that the world is hard and others are suffering as well. Dwayne Johnson once stated that the first thing he does in the morning is find something in which to be grateful. As I dry off, I am grateful that I'm not cold anymore. The few minutes of cold water sets my mind in the warrior mindset. I started with the cold shower. I will complete the rest of my task today. My second task is five minutes of yoga and five to ten minutes of zen meditation, an immediate shifting with the tranquility gear. Then a healthy breakfast and yes, a cup and a half of coffee. One to two cups of coffee is fine in the morning. Living on it all day is not. When I work full time, the next ritual is simply going to work until lunch and doing the best I could with my patients as a physical therapist. Then I made sure lunch was a healthy lunch. Also, throughout the day, I sip on a gigantic smoothie created from a mixture of fruits, vegetables, and natural juice. A constant flow of nutrients into my physiology. Lethargy is far less when you have the proper ions helping to conduct your neurological system properly. I rarely drink soft drinks and never those energy drinks that do nothing but eventually drop the person into the sluggish abyss. After lunch, I do another five minutes of sitting zen meditation. This will be enough to keep my mind mostly tranquil for the afternoon. I also check my short trading stocks, buying on the dips and selling on the bumps. Many times I only make 20 bucks. Sometimes there are no buys or sells, and some days I make a hundred or two. But this activity always keeps my mind in the realm of knowing with every profit I am continuously progressing forward financially instead of just having some HR person keep my assets in a mutual fund of which I know nothing about. Another aspect of my life in which I have complete control. The afternoon is spent like the morning, doing the best I can for my patients. Because of all those additives from the smoothie in my system, the after lunch lethargy is minimal. I allow one cup of coffee for the afternoon, then my caffeine quota has reached the limit for the day. After work, I focus for 30 minutes on some hobby that progresses my life. For me, that has recently been studying Spanish or reading philosophy. Then I lay down and close my eyes for 20 to 30 minutes in preparation for the incoming workout. And that trickle charge technique works. Once I get up, the energy is renewed. I go to the gym for about an hour and 45 minutes. An extra 45 minutes to my cardio program is strictly lifting weights, which I can't give up as I'm an old long-ago competitive bodybuilder as well as a tie boxer. But you can get a perfectly fine workout in 45 minutes to an hour in whatever cardio program you have picked. If I'm feeling god-awful, as we all do some days, I just slow down the intensity and practice slower form and tie boxing. But I keep going. Once a month I take three days off in a row to recover, and every six months or so I take a week off. Usually the first week of the year when the gym is packed with every new year's resolution, whose motivation will be vacant in a week or two. After the gym, I drop my bag and do the 20-minute emotional program. I do a 10-minute yoga routine, a five-minute tai chi form, and then another short Zen meditation session. I have a healthy meal, then right before bed, I do another five-minute yoga series of stretches. Now this is my routine. Yours should be the same in principle, but not necessarily in detail. You don't have to be a Thai boxer. Maybe you like speed walking or running, or a mixture of elliptical, treadmill, and exercise bike in 15-minute segments. For the emotional program, can you just engage in Kiy Yong for 20 minutes straight instead of my Far Eastern mix? Sure. Maybe you hate smoothies. Can you just eat two salads a day? Why not? Maybe you aren't learning Spanish but slowly getting your next IT served. And maybe you start with a lukewarm shower before you try that cold water. But the point is you've established a program similar to mine that constantly enforces progression and positivity on all your planes of being. I have rituals for the weekend as well. Three out of four a month, I go into Nature's Arena. I hike into the mountains, even if it's after the gym. Or I go fishing. The outdoors has an emotional healing effect just in itself. Then on the fourth weekend, I totally slug out. I watch that Netflix. As I watch Netflix on the nights during the week I'm not scheduled for the gym as well. You have to give yourself downtime in the midst of this stringent ritual regimen, or you'll burn yourself out. And that downtime will recharge you to return to these daily rituals. This can be your life, which if you follow my program, you will feel like you are truly living. And for former alcoholics, this is the path to reinvention of self. But you can't do that if you're sitting in the rooms of AA most nights. I want the AA member to really think about this. You have the choice of two lives. AA's life is you sit in a circle and talk about your terrible alcoholic past. You spend your off time smoking, sucking coffee, and rehashing the steps. You are surrounded by people who are in a state of emotional disarray, which will absorb into you. You aren't taking care of yourself in the fitness realm, which will keep the emotional sphere from progressing as well. And the worst of it is, you will always view yourself as a forever addict. Or you can have my life of constant positivity and progression. I am 80% retired and only contract infrequently now. But I follow the same pattern that I did when I was working more than not. I will start the day with that cold shower. My work are endeavors like these episodes and other social media ventures. I keep consistent with the gym, and on the rare times I do give in to resistance, I get right back on the horse. I only have more time for meditation now, which only increases its benefits. I will be pursuing advancement in life until I can pursue no more. But this is the pattern of rituals for holistic reinvention that you can use to recover from your days as an addict. And if you follow this pattern of activities, you will find cure at the two-year mark from your last indulgence. And you will continue to be that holistically recovered and cured person, as I have been now for almost two decades, whose being will always be in a constant state of advancement. Now, for some more on how to completely recover your being after alcoholism, go ahead and click on the playlist card at the end of the video. And check out my more detailed guidebook, Reinvention of Self How to Change Your Life and Being Forever. Link is on the video description as well as a channel page banner. And remember, you made the contract, now keep it. Be sober at sundown, and I will see you at the next sunrise.