The Secret to Recovery? It Has Nothing To Do Luck

In this episode of AAC Thrive, Mike Diamond explores the role of gratitude, resilience, and intentional action in recovery. He challenges the idea of “luck” and explains why lasting growth comes from consistent daily choices, self-awareness, and connection with others.

Listeners will learn practical strategies for cultivating emotional resilience, celebrating small wins, and using gratitude to stay grounded while navigating life’s challenges. Whether you’re new to recovery or have years of sobriety, this episode offers insights for building a strong, sustainable, and fulfilling life.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:11

Welcome to AAC Thrive. My name's Mike Diamond, and this is episode seven. So there's a thing that always we're going to talk about lucky to be here. And we're also going to jump into gratitude and growth in recovery. Now, a lot of people talk about luck. And um, they feel that luck is, you know, random or accidental. But what I have found over the years is that, especially in recovery, is that growth doesn't happen by chance or one lucky shot. Okay. It happens if we are courageous and we're committed, and if we're really connecting with others. So I want you to think about that for a second, okay? And when you think about luck, because they always say there's a famous saying, and I love it, preparation meets opportunity, which gives us luck. So if we don't have the courage and commitment to prepare, then we can never, ever, ever be lucky. And and what people think as well in recovery is that, and in life, is that they look at someone's life and they say, well, that person got lucky. And I always tell people this you can get a lucky break, right? But that doesn't give you a lucky life or a lucky career. And it definitely, definitely doesn't work in recovery because there is no luck in recovery. You know, you may get lucky to have a great sponsor or to walk into a really amazing meeting, or you may be lucky if someone like me or a skilled professional, an interventionist walks into your life and you know, meets you where you're at and helps you uh back on your path. But that's only one moment. It's what you do after that that creates an incredible life. Okay, and I always tell people there is no white light experience to this recovery process. There is no such thing as you know this feeling. The key to getting long-term sobriety, and I'll be coming on 20 years, is to get up every day and do the basics. You know, so I want you to think about this. When you think about your recovery journey, what's one thing you feel fortunate or grateful for today? Right. And that's how you really build gratitude. It's sitting in the moment and not comparing your life or what you should have had or could have had or think you ought to had. It's sitting here now and saying, okay, look around your house and think about the little things. Because I remember in my early recovery, you know, I'd watch a lot of people, you know, just get angry that they lost so many things. And then for me, I gained everything back and more because everything I got back in my recovery, I was appreciative and I really, really was happy to be sober. Right. So again, let's think about luck and preparation. So, what does that mean? That means we have to take daily action, okay? And when we take that daily action, it's important to understand that sometimes we're going to need support and things aren't going to go as planned. So we have to be resilient, we have to sit in things and work through them slowly. Now, I feel very lucky that I met great mentors and they help me grow and they help me stretch, and that makes me very grateful. And if I'm grateful every day, it really does strengthen my sobriety because it allows me to really focus on what I'm building daily, not what I've lost when I was using. Okay. Here's another important thing which will help you with your gratitude. Celebrate the small wins and really be proud of yourself and acknowledge the process and the progress you're making daily. Okay, because it's a great saying, right? We can't control the information coming in, but we can control how we choose to respond. So this may sound crazy. When something doesn't go as planned, I don't let it affect my identity. I just look at it as information. Okay, because I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, but I know if I show up and I'm grounded, things will fall into place. Okay. So ask yourself these, right? When have you felt lucky or grateful in your recovery journey? Now, if you're going through a rough time and you feel like, you know, everything's caving in on you and you feel a little hopeless and helpless, dip at that and try to find a little thing that you can be grateful for, right? And what it has another thing. What opportunities in your recovery, in your recovery, have given you, you know, things that you didn't expect. Just think about that. So, and you have to think about it because sometimes we can gloss over things because we have these prefixed ideas of how everything should go. And I always say remove the should, the oughts, and the musts in your life. Instead of saying things should go this way, say, you know, it would be nice if things went this way. Things ought to have gone the way I wanted, right? Or must go the way I've planned. Because if you get stuck in that, you'll never be grateful. Right? And here's another important thing, right? If we are grateful in the moment, it allows us to stay very grounded when we're facing setbacks and really, really hard days. Okay. So as you go through this month, I want you to think of this. Think of growth and think of how you can grow. What's something you could do to improve your life? And it doesn't have to be these massive things. There is no such thing as a big win. You have to enjoy the small wins, and the small wins compound daily. Okay. So it's stuff like this. I when I wake up every morning, I'm just grateful I'm up. You know, and if I don't feel good, I move and I journal. And I always say movement is medicine and it creates momentum. Right? So really sit in those feelings if you're feeling ungrateful. And here's a little tip that I use start to appreciate things wherever you're at with the resources you have, and then you'll start being grateful. Okay. So it's important to appreciate because if you don't appreciate, you will never, ever, ever, ever see any light in your life. Okay. So now think about this being lucky in recovery isn't about chance, it's about choice. Okay. And like I said, preparation and action. So every meeting we attend, every honest conversation we have, every time we push through a hard day, it's showing us how strong we are and resilient. And remember, you may start your journey, you know, by chance because someone intervened, like myself, or you just did it because you wanted to get people off your back, or maybe you did it because you're like, oh, I'll just do it because it'll save my marriage. But if you stay committed and connected to people and you do the work, what will happen is over time you will grow and improve. And I guarantee you this your life will get better. So, in closing, think about this. What is one thing about your recovery that you refuse to take for granted? And this month, focus on that. All right, and as I said, just take your time, have courage to be yourself, and take it day by day. And over time, if you can ride out the waves, you'll make it through the storm. This has been another episode of AAC Thrive. Go out, be yourself, be your best self because you're enough, and have a blessed day.