Certain habits and lifestyle changes are noble goals that support and sustain recovery from addiction. 

The New Year brings much chatter about resolutions, habits, diets, etc. that people want to adopt or change. But so often these resolutions, no matter how well-intentioned they may be, fail to stick. 

While it’s okay for setbacks and bad days to happen, it’s important that when you set goals for yourself, especially goals you want to achieve in recovery, you make them not only achievable but maintainable. 

Goal setting in addiction recovery 

When it comes to crafting your goals for the New Year, you want to make sure they are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-sensitive — better known as a SMART goal. This particular method of goal setting not only gives you something specific to work towards, but it also helps you meet them in a timely manner. 

In recovery, achieving your goals in a timely manner is crucial to the success of recovery, but setting goals that you can actually meet is just as important. So goals like, “Living healthier,” can be specified into an even better goal; for example, “Increasing hydration by drinking the necessary ounces of water for my weight every day and improving my diet by meal prepping two meals a week to minimize the temptation to order take-out.” 

By transforming your goals to reflect the SMART method, you can set yourself up for success in this part of your recovery journey. 

Examples of goal setting for the new year

While you may have specific goals in mind you already want to work on, you might need a little more inspiration. Well, you’ve come to the right place. Look no further for goals you can set to help you build and maintain a healthy lifestyle in your recovery. 

Take 10 to 30 minutes a day to pray, meditate or reflect 

Taking time to yourself to process what’s going on in your life, your journey or your recovery can be really helpful in moving through one stage and into the next. Whether you choose to pray, meditate or reflect, setting aside daily time to examine your progress, experience gratitude for your victories and learn from any mistakes can help you solidify your recovery decisions even more. 

Learn one new recipe a week

We make three meals a day, so learning one new recipe for any of those meals is a super attainable goal. Pick out something that’s an old favorite (that you’ve never made yourself) or something new and different, and enjoy the process of grocery shopping, cooking and eating the meal you made to nourish your body and mind. 

Build a healthy sleep routine 

You probably have a general idea of how much sleep you can run on – but have you ever considered how much sleep you need? A healthy sleep routine, including going to bed around the same time each night and adopting a bedtime routine to ready your mind for sleep, is a crucial part of a sustainable recovery. 

Go on a 30-minute walk 

You’ve probably heard it before, but it’s important to say again – exercise is a crucial factor in the success of your recovery. The better your physical body feels, the better your mental state will be, and vice versa. While going on a brief walk is usually the easiest to accomplish, do whatever exercise you find most rewarding, including yoga, jiu-jitsu, dance or weight lifting. 

Minimize screen time 

It’s tempting to sit in front of the tv, on the computer or scroll your phone for long periods of time, but this can be detrimental to your mental health. Doom scrolling, comparison and simple time wasting can all be aspects of too much time spent in front of a screen. Cutting your regular screen time in half can not only give you more time to spend on healthy activities, but it can also boost your mental health, too. 

Dedicate time to a hobby 

Take the 1 hour you would spend on social media every day and use it instead to revisit an old hobby or become an expert in a new one. Hobbies can provide you with a creative outlet as well as something fun to spend your time doing. Try and dedicate a set amount of time to your hobby each week and see if you don’t end up wanting to spend even more time on it each day. 

Support in your New Year goals 

Whether you need additional support in recovering from addiction or mental health struggles or someone to talk to and support you in discovering goals for yourself in the New Year, Silver Ridge Recovery is here for you. Give us a call at 855-945-7788 or visit our website to learn more.