During a recent virtual sobriety meditation meeting, I was sitting peacefully still as the chair played a beautiful piece of music he had carefully selected for us. Just as I was settling into that serene space, a YouTube ad unexpectedly blared through the speakers. The chair quickly scrambled to silence it, clearly frustrated, despite having tested the video beforehand. The interruption startled me, but what lingered was my concern for his serenity. I couldn’t stop thinking about how he must’ve felt embarrassed and disappointed. He had done the work to prevent the very thing that happened. But, as life tends to, things didn’t go according to plan.

That moment stirred up thoughts about the tension between control and surrender. I realized how often I am anticipating the other shoe to drop, trying to control everything, forgetting how little control I truly have. The chair’s experience reminded me that disruptions are just part of living. My faith has grown from blind trust, to lived experience, to evidential trust. But none of that could have happened without first surrendering. Just as that small disruption in the meeting became a reflection point for me, so too can all of life’s interruptions become opportunities to learn.

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For more information, visit me at ⁠⁠⁠recoverydailypodcast.com⁠⁠⁠ or email me at ⁠rachel@recoverydailypodcast.com⁠.

Visit my Etsy shop, Recovery Upcycling. https://www.etsy.com/shop/RecoveryUpcycling

To learn more about vestibular disorders visit https://vestibular.org

#recoverycommunity #mindfulnesspractice #acceptancejourney #emotionalsobriety #spiritualgrowth #livinginrecovery #faithoverfear #surrenderingcontrol #dailyreflections #mentalwellness

My to-do lists feel more like a guilt trip than a game plan. I need to pause and take a step back. The endless pressure to do it all drowns out what truly matters in my life. Instead of fitting my priorities into my schedule, I should be scheduling around my priorities. I started with identifying my top three core values yesterday. I shared that those are communication, health, and learning. But not everything I love doing, like painting, sewing, and upcycling jewelry, aligns with those values. These hobbies still matter because they fill my cup and make me happy.

To make room for both, I anchor my day in my values with sobriety meetings, dog walks, physical therapy, and my Recovery Daily Podcast. Then, I carve out time for creativity. Even 30 minutes of painting a rock or finishing sewing my project runway pants fulfills that need. I time-block most things in my day to be able to include value-based activities and hobbies, while honoring my disability and chronic pain. In recovery, we have to let our energy guide our schedule, not our task list.

Some days I just want to play, and that’s okay, too.

Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and YouTube.

For more information, visit me at ⁠⁠⁠recoverydailypodcast.com⁠⁠⁠ or email me at ⁠rachel@recoverydailypodcast.com⁠.

Visit my Etsy shop, Recovery Upcycling. https://www.etsy.com/shop/RecoveryUpcycling

To learn more about vestibular disorders visit https://vestibular.org

#recoveryjourney #chronicillnesswarrior #sobrietytools #dailyrituals #valuebasedliving #timemanagementtips #mentalhealthmatters #creativehealing #selfcompassion #energybasedscheduling

Stop. Do you know what your core values are? Mine are communication, health, and learning. These three themes have shaped every meaningful part of my life. I discovered them several years ago through an exercise where I named all the values that resonated with me, then narrowed them down until I found the top three that consistently showed up in the moments that felt most fulfilling. These three have always been at the center of who I am.

I’ve always been passionate about communication. At the company I medically retired from, I built an internal communication strategy for FUN. Who does that! That’s how deeply I value clear, thoughtful dialogue.

Health, especially mental health, has been a driving force in my life. I lived knowingly, yet helplessly, under the weight of invisible illness for 42 years. Sobriety helped me see it, and with professional support, medication, and daily step work, I’m managing it.

I never wanted to graduate because I never wanted the learning to stop. Turns out, the real education began afterward. Every day I learn something new about myself, and that helps me prioritize what is meaningful in my life.

Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and YouTube.

For more information, visit me at ⁠⁠⁠recoverydailypodcast.com⁠⁠⁠ or email me at ⁠rachel@recoverydailypodcast.com⁠.

Visit my Etsy shop, Recovery Upcycling. https://www.etsy.com/shop/RecoveryUpcycling

To learn more about vestibular disorders visit https://vestibular.org

#selfawareness #corevalues #mentalhealthrecovery #personalgrowth #sobrietyjourney #dailyreflection #lifelonglearning #healingjourney #mindfulliving #authenticself