Tony Robbins talks about burning your boats.
In order to force yourself to take action, succeed, keep steadfast in moving forward.
You have to leave no access to return to where you are or where you were.
I often times go to the beach and imagine I see my burning boats on the horizon. Out in the water, wooden vessels in flames. On any given day the vision is so powerful that I can smell the smoke of the smoldering wood.This is how I got here. There is a life I imagine beyond my wildest dreams that I desire. I always felt safe in the warmth.
Since I was child the cold ripped through me living in the Northeast. I always felt the connection to the heat. Perhaps being half Puerto Rican is the reason.
I am also a person in recovery and I chose to start my recovery in the warm months of summer. I had said, ” if I have to give up drinking there is no way I am suffering in the cold as well.” The warmth will be comforting and welcoming in my vulnerable state. It worked!
So thinking about how I burned my boats : picked up my life and closed my business, changed the trajectory of my career, let go of things I didn’t need, took financial risks otherwise known as investment in self, it made me think of my recovery.
As I looked back to day one, June 1st 2015, over the following days, weeks and months, that is exactly what I did. I burned the boats! I cleared my home of all alcohol, I made a cognizant decision to have only sober friends around me, I started working in recovery. When I was comfortable, I started telling people I was in recovery. I set ablaze the opportunities to drink, the relationships that didn’t optimize my sobriety, all the persons places things that could potentially lead me astray from my new found spark and down a dark abyss.
It made me think of anyone in recovery particularly those just starting out.
Burn your boats! You have an opportunity in front of you. The chance for a life like you’ve never imagined. Decide what needs to go and what needs to stay and be repaired or changed. Is it your home, relationships, your body, your career?
Leave no stone unturned. Do a complete comprehensive clean out!
Ask for help, get help, help others. Rise from the ashes! Be disciplined.
Drive forward.
Welcome and thank you for reading!
Best,
Stephanie