Use It or Lose It. One of the greatest rock groups of all time, in my opinion, is a group called Chicago. Chicago had such a great blend of rock, jazz and pop. One of their most popular songs was entitled Hard Habit to Break. One of the lyric lines in that song is “you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone and I found out too little too late.“ That helps set the stage for today’s post. Another great quote by a giant of a man goes like this “Your natural resources, unlike the natural resources on planet earth, will be wasted and used up only if they are never used at all.” These two quotes, although coming from very different places, finitely define today’s blog. I have learned as a person of recovery, things that are unused have a tendency to diminish as a direct result of not using them. Scientists who look at Alzheimer’s and other conditions of the brain, over time, observe diminishing functionality as a direct result of inactivity or activity that does not stimulate sustaining growth. Per most psychology and recovery experts, if we aren’t going forward it is just a matter of time before we go backward. I am sure that if you examine your life in the past or even in the present you will find this to be true. Life and other things that we can’t control seem to be moving at a changing and/or faster pace that if we do not stay ahead of them they will overtake us. That is why not using our personal resources is the predecessor to losing them.
Some of the things that I suggest are as follows:
- Approach that day with a positive mindset
- Be committed to overseeing your day
- Spend time in positive meditation
- Review the goals or daily agenda. If you don’t have goals or a definite agenda create them
- Be open to unexpected opportunities to learn something new
- Have a set time to perform a “check up from the neck up”
- Demonstrate caring for others throughout your day
- Control the things you can control while learning how to control any uncontrollable that can be controlled
- Remind yourself of the areas of gratitude in your life
- End the day with reflection, house cleaning and release before going to sleep
These are some of the things I have learned to incorporate in my life. I refuse to lose what I have been given. In order for me to keep, maintain and grow them, I must use them or I will lose them.
Robert Pardon
Robert is the Recovery Guy. Getting clean and sober on April 25, 1986 has given me the insight and practical skill set to not only stay sober, but to also re-invent myself to the person I always wanted to become. Showing others how to do this is my life goal.
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