As I am finishing up writing The Meaning Centered Recovery portion of the online Substance Abuse & Recovery course on teachable.com (feel free to take a look at https://drdan.teachable.com/courses/enrolled/662861) – I have been reminded of how important “striving” is to building a meaningful and healthy life – for any of us, but especially when working to recover from substance abuse and addiction.

Simply put, striving is the idea of setting goals – meaningful, responsible, achievable goals – and working towards them in a way that they guide our decisions and daily life.  These can be physical goals like running a race or crossing a finish line.  They can be mental or intellectual goals, like completing a training or degree program.  They can also be emotional, spiritual, or relational goals – as long as they are meaningful and give us something to work towards.

So what does “striving” have to do with the holidays?

The last article I wrote focused on acceptance through the holidays – living a balanced life, and working to move through those things during the season that could be potentially unsettling or distressing.

But what if we worked to make the holidays, better?  Rather than just coping with family differences, what if we worked to improve them?  Is there a relationship you need to repair?  Amends that need to be made?  Or an attempt at connection that you could strive to achieve?

Maybe the answer to the holidays is in setting goals – in striving – to improve those things that concern us the most?  Maybe rather than just coping, we set meaningful goals to make things better?

Of course, if I can help with that, just let me know.  – Dan