I can remember the morning clearly when I had this realization. I was laying in bed at the Salvation Army Harbor Lights where I was living at the time. It was 4:30 in the morning, I was tired…worn out..hadn’t got to bed until almost midnight the night before because I was working. I was just so tired. I didn’t want to get up, do my chores, shower and get to a 7:00 AA meeting. Just as I was about to say “Not today.” and go back to sleep I had a realization. If I was in active addiction and they were giving away free drugs I’d be out of bed in a heartbeat. So, if I really wanted to be sober, shouldn’t I be willing to get out of bed for free sobriety? Yes, yes I should. So if getting up and doing chores was what I had to do to have a safe, sober place to live then I should be willing to do that. If an AA meeting was what I needed to stay sober, then I should be willing to do that. Anything that would help keep me safe, healthy and sober should be as important- if not more- as drugs were to me if I really wanted it. So, that morning, I got out of bed, did what I needed to do and got to a meeting. No more excuses. I never had excuses when I was using for why I couldn’t get drugs that day. I would drag my ass out of bed and do whatever I needed to in order to feed my addiction. I would walk 5 miles in the snow without shoes if necessary. So now I needed to be willing to put the same effort into being sober if I really wanted it. It’s funny how such a simple thought can lead to big changes. I started saying “Free Drugs” when I needed motivation to do something I didn’t want to do. When people would ask how I was doing in the morning- because I hate mornings- I started to reply, “It’s a free drug sort of day.” When I was working out and didn’t want to do the last 10 minutes I would say to myself, “Would you do it for free drugs if you were using?” and since the answer to that is always going to be “Yes”, I would do that last whatever it was I didn’t want to do.
I’ve used this advice on a lot of friends and clients when they’re struggling with making healthy changes in their lives. Most of us have our addictions and hurdles, and if we would put the same energy towards our hurdles that we put into our addiction none of us would fail. So the next time that alarm goes off, and you don’t feel like getting up and going to the gym, or meeting or whatever, just remind yourself “Free Drugs” and get it done. Remember, motivation is for people who want to succeed. Determination is for people who need to succeed.
