Many of us draw great comfort and strength from inspirational quotes and sayings. This Sober Toolbox is a space for sharing any favourite motivational words that lift your spirits and offer encouragement and support. If you're looking for more discussion, interactions and feedback, head inside our Members Feed. That's where the real-time conversations take place.
“It doesn’t get better. I get better. Then, IT doesn’t seem so important.”
The only thing stronger than fear is hope.
Courage is like a muscle: it gets stronger every time you use it.
A tonic for todays Sabre tooth tiger..” Be who you are and say how you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind” Dr. Seuss
Dream lofty dreams and is you dream so shall you become. Your vision is the promise of what you shall one day be. Your ideal is the prophecy of which you shall at last unveil. – as a man thinketh – James Allen
It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves. -Sir Edmund Hilary
“A day to come seems longer than a year that’s gone.” – Authors: Mahle & Madison (Fantasy Series: Rowan)
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant” Robert Louis Stevenson
Don’t count the days. Make the days count
“If you do not change direction you will probably end up where you are headed” Lao Zhu.
Alcoholism is to give up everything for one thing
Sobriety is to give up one thing for everything
Wow! This was posted some time ago but resonates so well still!
That’s right. Thank you for that.
If people are trying to bring you down then pause for a moment to recognise that this means you are already above them.
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”
Thank you. I needed that one today.
Forgiving isn’t something you do for someone else. It’s something you do for yourself. It’s saying, “You’re not important enough to have a stranglehold on me.” It’s saying, “You don’t get to trap me in the past. I am worthy of a future. I’m moving on to peace and happiness.”
Thank you brenda33! This quote means a lot, it really resonates with me.
“Don’t forgive them because they deserve forgiveness, forgive them because you deserve peace”.
Ten words each of just two letters. This one may be at St Andrews golf course but i think it applies here
“If it is to be it is up to me”
“Drinking steals happiness from tomorrow”
Oof. Feel that one.. thank you.
“ No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying.”
never offer the Devil a ride,
he will always want to drive.
That says it all, such a good quote to say to yourself daily.
“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” — Alexander Graham Bell
“It’s easy to break a stained glass window. A simple stone can do it. No matter how hard we try to fit the broken pieces, the cracks will always show.” This is a direct quote from a book called “The Broken Pieces” that I read when I was 15! I’m angry at the monster who broke my spirit into pieces that I know can never be put back together again in its original beauty. I’m grateful for my tranquil life. I’ve got it all despite the loss of feeling safe. Believe me when I say if I can decide I’m well worthy of being happy, then anyone can!! Alcohol is not your friend or mine. It’s not appropriate and it’s just not good home economics!
But when you carefully glue those broken pieces back together, it is stronger than ever and definitely more interesting’
The fears we don’t face become our limits.
Courage is not about having the strength to go on, it’s going on even when you don’t have the strength
Love this
“If nothing changes nothing changes”
It’s OK that you don’t know how to move on. Start with something easier… like not going back.
This too shall pass.
How do you clear muddy water? Leave it alone.
Rome wasn’t built in a day…..but bricks were laid every hour.
Remember to be proud of every step you take in the right direction no matter how small.
tough times don’t last,
tough people do.
You always grow into what you become! Stop drinking now and become you.
We often say we are fine because that is less painful than explaining why we are not.
I’ve been thinking about this quote for awhile now and it always resonates with me.
– Tough times don’t last, but tough people do.
“ We change for two reasons. Either we learn enough that we want to or we hurt enough that we have to.”
That is so true….
I’m new to this community. I had decided to fully quit drinking on Dec. 20. Last night, I had a weak moment, and drank myself to blackout/passed out. Today’s been a day of feeling both physically and mentally pathetic. Ready to right the ship, and figured I’d join here, for further support and comradely.
It’s my Dad’s birthday. He was a big drinker for years but died 30 years sober.
In my 30’s I never thought I had a problem with alcohol. Then I me beer! Hazy in fact.
I was a modern functioning mother drinking beer…earlier and earlier every day.
I was turning in to my old Dad!
I’m 7 days sober. Early days! But for the first time in a long time I wake in the morning feeling good about myself…rather than being disappointed in myself.
I want to keep on NOT drinking. Give me strength.
Go you xx
One of my biggest hurdles in quitting is that everywhere I go I’m surrounded by drinking people, songs that talk about drinking. The majority of people drink! I have even heard someone say “I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t drink” So when I decided I was going to make the change in my life to remove alcohol this quote resonated with me.
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.
– Mark Twain
Oh my I like that!! Not even just about drinking life in general!!
I started counting and today is day 8 AF first time in 4 years! I realise I am not perfect and giving up drinking has given be back precious time with my family and greatly improved my mood so far 💕
“Addiction begins with the hope that something out there can instantly fill up the emptiness inside”
Jean Kilbourne
“Rockbottom became the solid foundation which has turned my perspective and life around”
Look at the past through a crack in the door and then close the door and look at the future your making.
‘Guilt & worry are useless emotions I choose not to employ. Every moment spent on each is living in the past or future, wasting the present moments.’
Life is way too short to spend another day at war with yourself.
Wow, this one hit me. I am going to write it down, frame it and hang it!
I have a plaque over my bedroom door so I see it when I go to bed and as soon as I wake up.
SHE BELIEVED SHE COULD, SO SHE DID
no matter how you feel, get up, dress up, show up, and never give up.
I love this 🙂
Book extract from Chocolate to Morphine: Everything you need to know about mind altering drugs:
We think that addiction is a basic human problem whose roots go very deep. Most of us at some point have been wounded, no matter what kind of family we grew up in or what kind of society we live in. We long for a sense of completeness and wholeness and we attempt to find this ‘feeling’ from alcohol, drugs, food, sex, money and other ‘sources’ of pleasure. In doing that, we project our power onto ‘external’ substances and activities, allowing them to make us feel better temporarily. This is a very strange sort of magic. We give away our power in exchange for a transient sense of wholeness, then suffer because the object of our craving seems to control us and cause us great harm. Recovery from addiction can only begin when we consciously experience this process, reclaim our power and recognize that our wounds must be healed from within.
“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are”
-Unknown
This is where I am. So over being in this place
My favorite quote was from a Canterbury Tactix netball player, cant remember her name.. It never gets easier, you just get better.
I Would Rather Go Through Life Sober, Believing I Am An Alcoholic,
Than Go Through Life Drunk, Trying To Convince Myself That I Am Not
There is no wrong way to stop drinking.
Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.
Dalai Lama
Including to yourself.
Atawhai
SKY
Stop Killing Yourself.
From @flora
Whatever you’re feeling, it will eventually pass. You won’t feel sad forever. At some point, you will feel happy again. You won’t feel anxious forever. In time, you will feel calm again. You don’t have to fight your feelings or feel guilty for having them. You just have to accept them and be good to yourself while you ride this out. Resisting your emotions and shaming yourself will only cause you more pain, and you don’t deserve that. You deserve your own love, acceptance, and compassion.
Lori Deschene
One cannot arrive at spring without first having survived winter.
⚘🌷🌻🌺💐🌸🏵