1DAAT is a term often used in the sober community.
It is advice I would do well to heed.
“One Day At A Time”
There are so many battlegrounds where this approach can help me to victory:
Anywhere I face a problem which threatens to overwhelm me by its sheer scale or difficulty level.
I might find such problems at home in parenthood and marriage or at work, tackling a large project or a sporting event like a marathon.
I might need to wait!.. for a date far in the future. Yikes!
Or I could be taking on the challenge of a significant self-help redesign in the arena of addiction and recovery.
1DAAT breaks my target down into small doable segments.
This is not new wisdom.
The Bible tells me:
“Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own”.
The Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”. (And I add, continues with individual steps).
The beauty of this advice is in its ability to reduce impossibly enormous challenges to manageable-sized ones.
I reduce the longest journey to a single step.
I don’t need to focus on not drinking alcohol ever again.
I only need not to drink Today.
I can do that!
I have already done that 157 times.
I like this advice because it draws me into the present – The here and now.
Yesterday has gone, and tomorrow doesn’t exist yet.
All I have to concern myself with is Today.
Today is where I live and operate.
However, to ignore the past or the future is to miss a trick. Both have a place in contributing to my victory.
.
A personalised stick and carrot:
I need to keep the memories of my past alive to remind me of the necessity to change.
I need to remember from whence I came and why.
The past recalls me to what might be if I abandon my path, and acts as a signpost to Hell.
The past is my stick!
I need to keep my dreams of the future alive because they are my compass and guide my direction.
The promise of what tomorrow might bring is my carrot!
However, when I think of my future, I think of ‘What’ and ‘Where’.
I only think about ‘How ‘Through the prism of 1DAAT.
If the journey and challenges are manageable, they can also be enjoyable, which is another key to success and enjoying my life.
TOP TIP:
Takes things slow and enjoy the journey one step at a time.
xx