Reward yourself for scheduling and following through

Earlier this week, you identified a few different activities you wanted to accomplish this week and next; a yoga class, or a coffee date with a friend, or whatever it is that you know will be helpful for your alcohol-free life, but has felt a little hard to make yourself get up and do. Now that we’ve scheduled it, what are you going to reward yourself with when you follow through? Perhaps you’ll get a fancy latte at that coffee date, or indulge in ten extra minutes of shavasana in your yoga class. It sounds elementary, but even a sticker chart for a desired behavior gives us that little boost of dopamine; isn’t it so satisfying to put that gold star on a completed task? Figure out what sort of positive reinforcement will give you a little jolt of joy upon completion, and build that into your Behavioral Activation game plan.

Today, brain dump all of the positive rewards that you could begin implementing in your life, big and small. When considering these rewards, make sure that they add to your alcohol-free life; avoid alcohol, other substances, and other mechanisms of “numbing out” like television binge-sessions. Then, choose five rewards to build into your existing plan for the next two weeks.