Sober Short - Be Accountable

Tribe Sober - inspiring an alcohol-free life! Welcome to our seventh "Sober Short" - an interim mini podcast to supplement the weekly Tribe Sober podcast. I’m going to kick off this series by taking you through our Tribe Sober Toolkit – this toolkit is just one of the things that we share with you during our regular Zoom workshops – click here for more info. Our workshops have been a gamechanger for so many people - if you want to kickstart your sober journey then sign up today In this episode During the first 6 Sober Shorts we looked at the first 6 Tools in our toolbox Tool 1 was CONNECTION  “Connection is the Opposite of Addiction” and if you’re serious about getting sober then you need to connect with others on the same path – So if you’re not yet a member of our tribe please check us out on tribesober.com “join our tribe” to read about the benefits of membership Tool 2 was “GET MOVING” We all know is that exercise is “good for us” and many many people exercise daily but they also drink on a daily basis – sometimes excessively – ditch the drink and keep exercising and you will be amazed at how much fitter you will get! Tool number 3 was all about:- Tool 3 was "BUILD YOUR EMOTIONAL STRENGTH" All about “learning to sit with our feelings” – instead of trying to chase them away with alcohol – alcohol is the “easy button” and enables us to bypass difficult emotions We have to “get comfortable with being uncomfortable as Tribe Sober coach Lynette says or as Glennon Doyle says:-  “First the Pain, then the Rising” Tool number 4 was all about:- Tool 4 was MINDSET About changing your thinking – about drinking The global alcohol industry spends trillions on marketing every year to convince us that we need their product.. The wine industry in particular has done a stunning job marketing to us ladies during the last 2 decades– Many women now believe that drinking wine is essential for a full and happy life. We have to de-program ourselves — a nice analogy is to think of our subconscious mind as a computer — we need to reboot and load some new software. Tool 5 was "VISUALISATION" 3 visualisation tools:- If you get a craving in the evening then just accept it’s the “wine witch” but she can no longer control you.  Grab an AF drink or go out for a walk… Play the movie forward – if you get the urge to drink then just think it through – do you really want to keep going back to Day 1 – again and again Visualise those 2 paths – the first six months of sobriety are tough so you need to work hard to stay on track – you have to move from a place of instant gratification to a place where you can focus on long term – and life changing goals… Tool 6 – INFORMATION IS POWER! If we want to take back our power then we must educate ourselves about the harm alcohol can do  The information is out there and just a quick google search will connect you with scientific research proving that alcohol is linked to 7 different types of cancer and more than 60 diseases. You need to treat it as a research project. Begin your journey by reading the Naked Mind by Annie Grace who will show you just how the alcohol marketing industry creates the powerful limiting beliefs that we hold in our subconscious. There are so many books relating to alcohol and sobriety these days that there is a whole category called QuitLit these days… If you’d like a QuitLit Reading list just email [email protected]  Check out the rest of the Tribe Sober podcast episodes for recovery stories and expert advice. TOOL 7 – BE ACCOUNTABLE As we say in our battleplan you need to set Anchor Points for this journey – just as a sailing boat might drift off its course make sure you are taking specific actions to staying accountable and on track… An annual tracker is an essential tool – colour in each day as an alcohol free day in the morning to set the intention…  keep our eye on the big picture – even if you do have a slip up just mark it on your tracker and get right back on the sober bus the next day.. Another way to stay accountable is to write blog and put it out there – I started blogging the day that I stopped drinking and connected with others on the same journey – that blog was called WWW and eventually become Tribe Sober An important anchor point is to be connected to a community where you can “check in” – if you are doing well you will get some great feedback and if you are struggling then you will get some advice and encouragement..  At TS we offer daily opportunities to check in – whether it’s on Slack Chat or WhatsApp or our daily Zoom Chats there is a community wanting to know how you are doing and that makes all the difference… If you are really struggling and need extra 1.2.1 support then we can team you up with a Sober Buddy who is simply a member of our community who has been sober for a while and is offering 1.2.1 support.. Even if you are six months or more into your sober journey look out for FAB (fading affect bias) as William Porter describes in his book Alcohol explained.. After a certain period we forget the hangovers and the tiredness/low energy of our drinking days and even start reminiscing about the good times we used to have when drinking.. We have thoughts like “I wasn’t that bad” and “maybe I could have just one” but that’s a real danger sign.. – its just our brain tricking us so that’s a good time to write our…Goodbye To Alcohol letter The thinking behind a Goodbye To Alcohol letter is that alcohol can be like an abusive lover etc.. You can hear me reading my letter on Ep 1 of Tribe Sober  podcast and if you go to tribesober.com/Inspiration there is a whole collection there.. So to summarise – when you embark on the sober voyage set some anchor points in advance to reinforce your motivation and to keep you on track  - be accountable:- Get your Battleplan Join tribesober.com and check in with the community regularly Start your Annual Tracker If you like writing then think about starting a blog Make a diary note to write your GTA letter when you are a few months in – send it to us and we’ll be happy to publish it on our website! So that’s tool number 7 from our 15 tools in our Sober Toolkit If you’d like some more support then check out our workshops (tribesober.com/services) or our next 66 day challenge which starts on 20th March (tribesober.com/Sober Spring) Tribe Sober members get a 25% discount on both so it’s a good time to join our tribe! If YOU’ve got a favourite tip that you’d like me to share on Sober Shorts then just email it to me [email protected]  Don’t forget to check out our weekly podcast – its full of recovery stories and expert advice– its called Tribe Sober and it comes out every Saturday morning. More info Join Tribe Sober and learn how to quit drinking and go on to thrive in your alcohol free life  - you can join up HERE To access our website click HERE If you would like a free copy of our "Annual Tracker" or our e-book "66 Days to Sobriety" please email [email protected] If you would like to come to our Saturday afternoon Zoom Cafe as a guest and meet our community just email [email protected] Episode Sponsor           This episode is sponsored by the Tribe Sober Membership Program.  If you want to change your relationship with alcohol             sign up today           Read more about our 7-step program and subscribe HERE           Book a Chat with Sue to find out if our membership would help you - email her on [email protected]            Help us to spread the word! We made this podcast so that we can reach more people who need our help.  Please subscribe and share. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave us a 5 star review on Apple podcasts, take a screenshot of your review and DM it to Tribe Sober’s Instagram page - see PS for instructions - we'll send you something special to say thank you! We release a podcast episode every Saturday morning and a Sober Short on Wednesdays You can follow Tribe Sober on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram  You can join our private Facebook group HERE Thank you for listening!  Till Next Week Janet x   PS   How to leave an rating/review in Apple Podcasts (on an iOS device) 1. Open the Podcasts app. EASY. 2. Choose "Search" from the bottom row of icons and enter the name of the show (i.e., "Tribe Sober") into the search field. 3. Select the show under Shows (not under Episodes). 4. Scroll down past the first few episodes until you see Ratings & Reviews. 5. Click "Write a Review" underneath the displayed reviews from other listeners. You'll then have the option to rate the show on a 5-star scale, and write a review (you can rate without writing, too but it's always good to read your experience).