Recovery: Assessing your progress

In life, in work, with our families, we all need to take stock of where we are, where we want to go, and what we're doing to get there--especially if you notice lack of movement in a particular area. It's good to keep track so you can stay on task. Otherwise, it's too easy to get distracted.

Thus, here at BIKE WITH JACKIE, it's time to take stock of what we've discussed so far this month. For me, personally, I want to know where to take you next. So here's my Recovery recap:

Day 1: We began by starting a Blogathon with a group of speaker friends from the Arizona chapter of the National Speakers Association. This shows you we don't have to work alone. We can bring people in with us to help advance progress.

Day 2: Next, we discussed the importance of "letting go" the things that hold us back.

Day 3: We next were reminded that, even though we'll have them, we CAN move past the setbacks during Recovery.

Day 4: To be able to move forward, we had to learn a few coping skills or learn to embrace the ones we already have.

Day 5: We discussed the great things about us as a reminder to affirm ourselves.

Day 6: I'm a big fan of writing down your thoughts, so I added journaling as something very important to do during Recovery.

Day 7: Then we got to relish in the breakthroughs, thank goodness.

Day 8: After all that hard work in Week One, it was time to nurture ourselves.

Day 9: Of course, we don't want to forget to celebrate our goodness.

Day 10: And we must always remember to take down time, to give our body, mind and spirit the rest that it deserves.

Day 11: We learned on this day to avoid those absolutes, to stop awfulizing and begin seeing things as they really are.

Day 12: Some of us have to work on some of these things more frequently than others. I have to work on the one we discussed on this day: simplifying life.

Day 13: And isn't it grand when we realize we can simply start over?

Day 14: Another way to work your Recovery is to think about others. This way you're not just focusing on your problems. You realize others have problems, too. What can you do to help them?

Day 15: At the halfway point, we were reminded to have fun and think about 15 Things you love or plan to do, or anything at all. It was a free-writing exercise.

Today, we're reminded to take stock, to look back and review our progress. Every day gives us another chance to move forward in life. If we focus on what we're doing to make that happen, we can't go wrong.

In this next week, think about what forward movement looks like to you. What we discuss at BIKE WITH JACKIE is meant only to give you ideas. There's no right or wrong. Your Recovery, in other words, your Success, can only be prescribed by you. If you need to draw a picture of what it looks like, do that. If you need to write out a list, that's a good idea. Give yourself ten minutes every morning this week to consider this. If something sparks an idea, write it down. It might be helpful to keep a Success Journal where you can keep track of your progress in whatever way that works for you.

Have a great weekend!