RAW Recovery Podcast

Joy of Living Is the Theme, Action Is the Key

In recovery, joy isn’t something we chase — it’s something that shows up as a result of right action. We don’t think our way into a better life. We live our way into better thinking.

The program doesn’t promise constant happiness or an easy road. What it offers is a way to live usefully, honestly, and with purpose. When we take action — even when we don’t feel like it — the joy of living follows.

In today’s Daily Trudge, we talk about:

An Act of Providence

Looking back, many of us can see moments that don’t make sense on paper. Times when things should have gone worse — but didn’t. When we were spared, redirected, or interrupted just enough to stay alive. In recovery, we often come to recognize those moments for what they were: acts of providence.

Providence isn’t about luck or coincidence. It’s about unseen guidance showing up when our own judgment failed. Long before we were willing, aware, or sober, something was already at work — protecting us, slowing us down, or keeping us h...

What Is Success in Recovery?

Success in recovery isn’t measured by time, titles, or how “put together” someone looks. It’s not perfection, constant happiness, or the absence of struggle. Real success in recovery is quieter — and far more meaningful.

Success is waking up sober.
It’s telling the truth when lying would be easier.
It’s asking for help instead of disappearing.
It’s taking responsibility for your life, one day at a time.

Recovery doesn’t promise an easy life. It offers an honest one. Success shows up in willingness...

UNCOMFORTABLE DOESN’T MEAN WRONG

Welcome to The Daily Trudge.

Today is Day 2 of Newcomer Week, and we’re talking about something that trips a lot of people up early on: discomfort. Early sobriety often feels awkward, emotional, restless, and unfamiliar. That doesn’t mean you’re failing — it means your body and mind are adjusting.

Many people mistake “this feels bad” for “this isn’t working.” Today we slow that down and talk about why discomfort is often part of the process, not a sign to quit.

No pressure.
No fixing.
Just...

Welcome to The Daily Trudge.

Today we’re starting Newcomer Week with a simple truth that saves lives: you don’t have to understand recovery to stay sober. In early sobriety, confusion is normal. Before clarity comes, there is a physical change that has to settle — what we often call Step 0.

If your mind feels foggy, restless, or overwhelmed, that doesn’t mean you’re failing. It means you’re early.

This is a pressure-free space to hear the truth, slow things down, and remember that staying comes first — understanding follows.

Because no one...

God Centered Recovery

Today’s conversation is rooted in Proverbs 8:11–14.

We talked about wisdom, pride, and why recovery isn’t about being smart — it’s about getting the mind sober.
Pride rushes. Wisdom pauses.
And most of the trouble we’ve experienced came from ignoring what we already knew.

“You don’t get wise until your mind gets sober.”

Take what you need. Leave the rest.

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#addiction #recovery #mentalhealth #addictionrecovery #sobriety #sober #love #soberlife #recoveryis...

Total acceptance doesn’t mean approval. It doesn’t mean liking what happened, agreeing with it, or pretending it didn’t hurt. In recovery, total acceptance means stopping the fight with reality — because fighting what already is keeps us sick.

Most of our suffering doesn’t come from what happened. It comes from arguing with it, replaying it, resenting it, or wishing it were different. Total acceptance is the turning point where we stop trying to control the past, other people, or outcomes — and start living in what’s actually in front of us.

In today’s Daily...

Accountability isn’t about punishment, shame, or someone watching over us. In recovery, accountability is about ownership — owning our thoughts, our actions, our motives, and our part. It’s the point where honesty stops being theoretical and starts becoming practical.

We don’t grow by blaming the past, other people, or our circumstances. We grow when we’re willing to look at ourselves without excuses and take responsibility for what we can change. Accountability doesn’t make life harder — it makes it clearer.

In today’s Daily Trudge, we talk about:

Forgiveness isn’t something we arrive at naturally. Most of us come into recovery carrying resentment, anger, and old wounds that feel justified. And for a long time, they probably were. But recovery shows us something uncomfortable and freeing at the same time: resentment costs us more than it costs anyone else.

The Big Book doesn’t tell us to forgive because it’s nice or noble — it tells us to forgive because it’s necessary. Holding on to old anger keeps us tied to the very thinking that once drove us to drink. Forgiveness, in recovery, isn’t abou...

We hear a lot of talk about moderation, willpower, motivation, and mindset — but recovery asks a harder, more honest question: what about the real alcoholic?

The real alcoholic isn’t lacking information.
They aren’t weak.
They aren’t morally broken.

They suffer from a condition that makes self-management impossible once alcohol enters the picture.

In this Daily Trudge, we slow things down and talk plainly about what the Big Book actually describes: the alcoholic who cannot safely drink, cannot reliably stop, and cannot stay sober on self-knowledge alone. Not to shame an...

Most of us don’t feel like miracles. We feel tired. We feel unsure. We feel like we’re just barely holding it together some days. But recovery teaches us something powerful: the miracle isn’t that life became perfect — the miracle is that we’re still here, sober, honest, and willing.

We didn’t arrive in recovery strong. We arrived broken, exhausted, and out of options. And yet, somehow, here we are — breathing, showing up, learning, and changing. Not because we figured it all out, but because we stayed.

In today’s Daily Trudge, we talk about:<...

Faith alone doesn’t keep us sober. Neither does knowledge, meetings, or good intentions. Recovery happens when faith gives us direction, the blueprint shows us how, and the work turns it into action.

The Big Book is clear: belief without action doesn’t change our lives. We are given a spiritual solution, laid out step-by-step, and then asked to live it — daily, imperfectly, and honestly. This isn’t about hype, emotion, or shortcuts. It’s about showing up, doing the work, and trusting that results follow action.

In today’s Daily Trudge, we break down how faith, s...

“A Vision for You” isn’t a promise of an easy life — it’s a promise of a different way to live. It speaks directly to the alcoholic who feels hopeless, exhausted, and unsure whether anything can truly change. This chapter doesn’t minimize the pain of alcoholism; it tells the truth about it — and then offers hope grounded in experience, not theory.

The vision isn’t about perfection, instant peace, or escaping reality. It’s about freedom from obsession, connection instead of isolation, usefulness instead of self-centeredness, and a life no longer ruled by fear, alcohol, or self-will.

For a lot of us in recovery, relationships have always been one-sided. We either took too much, gave too much, or stayed far longer than we should have out of guilt, fear, or obligation. Sobriety doesn’t just change our relationship with alcohol — it forces us to take an honest look at how we relate to people.

Healthy relationships aren’t built on rescuing, chasing approval, or constant self-sacrifice. They’re built on reciprocity — effort going both ways, respect flowing both directions, and boundaries that protect everyone involved.

In today’s Daily Trudge, we talk about:

For a lot of us in recovery, relationships have always been one-sided. We either took too much, gave too much, or stayed far longer than we should have out of guilt, fear, or obligation. Sobriety doesn’t just change our relationship with alcohol — it forces us to take an honest look at how we relate to people.

Healthy relationships aren’t built on rescuing, chasing approval, or constant self-sacrifice. They’re built on reciprocity — effort going both ways, respect flowing both directions, and boundaries that protect everyone involved.

In today’s Daily Trudge, we talk about:

One of the most difficult parts of recovery isn’t getting sober — it’s what happens after. Sobriety removes the filter. The numbness is gone, and suddenly we find ourselves living in a world of truth. That can feel overwhelming, raw, and hard to manage.

In addiction, we avoided truth. Alcohol softened reality, blurred emotions, and gave us escape. Recovery does the opposite. It brings clarity, honesty, and awareness — and with that comes feelings, memories, grief, responsibility, and reality we may not be ready for all at once.

In this Daily Trudge, we talk about:

This episode of The Daily Trudge was originally recorded on May 31st, 2021, and is being shared again as a throwback while new live episodes are on pause.

In this reflection, we talk about courage — not the loud, chest-puffing kind, but the quiet, hard-earned courage that comes from survival. The kind of courage learned in addiction, refined in recovery, and redirected toward usefulness and service.

This episode touches on open and closed meetings, responsibility to newcomers, humility, and the idea that recovery was freely given — and therefore must remain freely available. It challenges the idea of owne...

This episode of The Daily Trudge was originally recorded on May 9th, 2021, and it’s being shared again as a throwback during a short break from live episodes.

In this reflection, I talk openly about triggers, family boundaries, emotional fallout, and how even years into sobriety, old wounds can still surface. Recovery doesn’t make us immune to life — it teaches us how to walk through it without drinking, even when things hit deeper than expected.

We dig into fear, courage, humility, and the illusion of “whistling in the dark” — pretending we’re okay when we’re not. Dra...

Most of us didn’t get sober because life was going well. We got sober because alcohol stopped working and the cost became too high. But what keeps us sober isn’t fear — it’s discovering what sobriety actually gives us. Over time, sobriety stops feeling like a loss and starts revealing itself as a gift.

The gift of sobriety isn’t perfection, comfort, or a pain-free life. It’s clarity. It’s choice. It’s the ability to show up, feel, respond, and grow. Sobriety gives us access to a life we couldn’t reach when alcohol was in con...

Recovery isn’t just about not drinking — it’s about becoming useful again. For a long time, our lives revolved around chaos, self-centeredness, and survival. Alcohol promised relief but delivered isolation. What the program offers instead is something deeper and steadier: a sane and happy usefulness.

Sanity doesn’t mean life is perfect. Happiness doesn’t mean we’re always comfortable. Usefulness doesn’t mean we’re indispensable. It means we’re grounded, present, and able to contribute without ego, expectation, or exhaustion. When recovery works, we stop living only for ourselves and start participating in life again.

In t...

In this episode of God Centered Recovery, Roger McDiarmid and Dion Miller take a hard look at Proverbs 8:11–14 and what it reveals about pride, desire, and decision-making in recovery.

This passage reminds us that wisdom is more valuable than anything we want — and addiction thrives on choosing desire over wisdom. Together, Roger and Dion explore how prudence, humility, counsel, and sound judgment play a critical role in staying grounded and making healthier choices.

In this conversation, we talk about:

It’s easy to forget where we came from once life starts to stabilize. Time sober, routines in place, and a little distance from the chaos can quietly turn gratitude into judgment. That’s why this reminder matters: but for the grace of God go I.

Recovery isn’t proof that we’re better, smarter, or stronger than anyone else. It’s evidence that grace intervened where self-will failed. The line between where we are and where we once were is thinner than we like to admit — and humility keeps us aware of that truth.

In today’s D...

It’s easy to forget where we came from once life starts to stabilize. Time sober, routines in place, and a little distance from the chaos can quietly turn gratitude into judgment. That’s why this reminder matters: but for the grace of God go I.

Recovery isn’t proof that we’re better, smarter, or stronger than anyone else. It’s evidence that grace intervened where self-will failed. The line between where we are and where we once were is thinner than we like to admit — and humility keeps us aware of that truth.

In today’s D...

For a long time, we thought alcohol was our biggest problem. But the truth runs deeper. Alcohol was the symptom — lack of humility was the handicap. Pride, self-reliance, and the need to be right kept us stuck long before the drink ever did.

Humility isn’t about thinking poorly of ourselves or shrinking down. It’s about seeing ourselves honestly — without exaggeration, denial, or ego. Until humility shows up, recovery can’t take root. We stay defensive, resistant, and disconnected from help, guidance, and God.

In today’s Daily Trudge, we talk about:

There’s a lot of confusion in recovery around the Fourth Step. Some people treat it like something they’re supposed to redo over and over, digging endlessly into the past. But that’s not what the program teaches. We take one honest Fourth Step, and then we move forward into maintenance, not constant excavation.

The Fourth Step is about clearing the wreckage — not living in it. Maintenance is where growth actually happens. It’s where we apply what we learned, stay spiritually fit, and clean up new issues as they arise instead of reopening old ones.

In t...

Most of our pain doesn’t come from what’s happening — it comes from where our mind goes. Regret pulls us backward. Fear pushes us forward. And somewhere in between, we miss the only place life is actually happening, right now.

Living in the now isn’t about ignoring responsibility or pretending the past didn’t happen. It’s about releasing the constant mental tug-of-war between what was and what might be. Recovery teaches us that sobriety is lived one moment at a time, not all at once.

In today’s Daily Trudge, we talk about:

I keep hearing people argue about whether recovery should be clinical or spiritual, and honestly, that argument misses the point.

Alcoholism doesn’t live in just one part of us. It messes with our thinking, our emotions, our behavior, and our spirit. So why would recovery only address one of those?

Clinical tools help me understand my patterns, my trauma, and my reactions. Spiritual principles help me surrender what I can’t control and stay grounded when life gets hard. I don’t have to choose between the two — I need both.

When recovery...

Newcomers don’t need to be fixed, managed, overwhelmed, or impressed. They need safety, honesty, and hope. How we work with newcomers matters — because the first experiences in recovery often shape whether someone stays or disappears back into the darkness.

Working with newcomers isn’t about control or authority. It’s about remembering where we came from, meeting people where they are, and offering what was freely given to us. Recovery grows when it’s shared simply, humbly, and without conditions.

In today’s Daily Trudge, we talk about:

Sometimes recovery doesn’t fall apart because we need something new — it falls apart because we drifted away from what already works. Complication, overthinking, burnout, and ego creep in, and before we know it, we’re no longer doing the simple things that kept us grounded in the first place.

“How It Works” isn’t outdated. It isn’t basic in a dismissive way. It’s foundational. When life gets loud, emotions run high, or sobriety feels shaky, the answer is rarely more information — it’s returning to the fundamentals that saved our lives.

In today’s Daily Trudge...

The holidays have a way of blurring lines, reopening old wounds, and testing our recovery in ways that regular days don’t. Family dynamics, expectations, guilt, obligation, and tradition can pull us right back into patterns we worked hard to outgrow. That’s where boundaries stop being optional — they become essential.

Boundaries aren’t about punishment, control, or shutting people out. They’re about protecting your sobriety, your peace, and the life God is helping you build. Especially during the holidaze, boundaries aren’t selfish — they’re responsible.

In today’s Daily Trudge, we talk about:

Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself — it’s thinking about yourself less. In recovery, humility becomes the foundation that keeps everything else standing. Without it, growth turns into ego, learning turns into arrogance, and service turns into self-promotion. Humility keeps us teachable, grounded, and honest.

This isn’t about self-shaming or playing small. It’s about knowing where our strength actually comes from. Addiction taught many of us to either inflate ourselves or disappear completely. Recovery teaches us balance — confidence without ego, conviction without control.

In today’s Daily Trudge, we talk about:

One of the quiet miracles of recovery is realizing how many things we no longer have to do. We don’t have to lie. We don’t have to run. We don’t have to manipulate, numb, hide, explode, or pretend. Addiction told us everything was a requirement for survival. Recovery shows us most of it was fear.

The “I don’t have to’s” are about freedom — real freedom. Not the kind that comes from doing whatever you want, but the kind that comes from no longer being owned by old behaviors, old reactions, and old beliefs. Emotion...

At some point in recovery, many of us start asking a question we never thought we’d ask before: Is this God calling me… or am I just out of my mind? When the noise quiets down and the chaos settles, something new shows up — intuition, conviction, purpose, direction. And that can feel unsettling when you spent years not trusting your own thoughts.

This isn’t about hearing voices or chasing signs everywhere. It’s about learning the difference between ego, fear, impulse, and spiritual guidance. Recovery doesn’t just sober us up — it wakes us up. And waking up...

There are moments in recovery when quitting feels easier than continuing. When progress feels slow, when mistakes pile up, when life doesn’t let up, and the old voice starts whispering that none of this is worth it. That voice lies. Recovery isn’t built on perfection — it’s built on persistence.

“Never, ever give up” doesn’t mean you never fall. It means you don’t stay down. It means you keep showing up, even tired, even discouraged, even unsure. It means you trust that God is still working when you can’t see results yet. Growth happens bec...

“Happy, joyous, and free” isn’t a mood. It’s not a nonstop emotional high. It’s not pretending life is perfect or that pain disappears in recovery. It’s a spiritual condition — one that grows when we stop fighting life, stop running from ourselves, and stop trying to control outcomes.

For many of us, happiness was something we chased. Joy was something we tried to manufacture. Freedom felt impossible. Recovery teaches us that these things aren’t achieved by force — they’re experienced as a byproduct of honesty, surrender, and living in alignment with God’s will instead of our ow...

Thinking of others doesn’t come naturally to most of us — especially in early recovery. Addiction trains us to live inward, to focus on our needs, our pain, our fear, our cravings, our story. That mindset keeps us stuck. Recovery begins to change when we start looking outward.

Thinking of others isn’t about neglecting yourself or becoming a doormat. It’s about stepping out of self-centered fear and into usefulness. It’s one of the fastest ways to break obsession, quiet the mind, and reconnect with God. When we stop asking “What do I need right now?” and st...

We all came in thinking our problems were unique — different stories, different damage, different pain. But recovery has a way of stripping that illusion away. Different paths brought us here, but the solution is surprisingly common.

A common solution doesn’t mean a cheap or easy one. It means shared principles: honesty, surrender, accountability, humility, service, and reliance on God rather than self-will. The details of our stories may differ, but the work that saves us looks remarkably similar.

In today’s Daily Trudge, we talk about:

Most of us come into recovery convinced that our alcoholism is a curse — the thing that ruined our lives, destroyed relationships, shattered opportunities, and dragged us to our knees. And yes, it did all of that. But what if that wasn’t the whole truth? What if the very thing that nearly killed you is also the thing God is using to save you — and others?

This isn’t about romanticizing alcoholism. It’s about recognizing what happens after the wreckage: the awakening, the humility, the purpose, the clarity, the relationship with God that most people never experience...

Accountability is the moment recovery stops being theory and becomes real life. It’s the grown-up side of sobriety — the part where we stop blaming, stop hiding, stop sugarcoating, and start taking responsibility for our actions, our reactions, and our impact.

Most of us spent years living in denial, excuses, and “Yeah, but…” thinking. Accountability is the shift where we finally look in the mirror without running. It’s not about shame. It’s not about punishment. It’s about maturity, honesty, and growing into the person sobriety is trying to turn us into.

In today’s Daily Tr...

Radical acceptance isn’t about liking what’s happening. It’s about finally dropping the fight with reality. Most of us spent years arguing with life, resisting the truth, and trying to force things to be the way we wanted. That battle nearly killed us. Radical acceptance is the opposite — it’s the doorway into emotional sobriety.

Acceptance doesn’t mean approval. It doesn’t mean surrendering your dignity. It doesn’t mean you stop trying. It means you stop bleeding energy into things you can’t change, and you start putting that energy into what you can.

In tod...

Living in the solution doesn’t mean life gets easy. It means you stop pouring gasoline on your own fires. It means you stop rehearsing the problem and start walking toward the answer. Most of us spent years living in the problem — blaming, reacting, hiding, drinking, isolating, controlling, running. Living in the solution is the opposite of all that.

Living in the solution is a shift — a spiritual one, an emotional one, and a practical one. It’s where growth actually happens. It’s where we learn to trust God, trust the process, and trust the tools that saved...

Loyalty is one of the most misunderstood principles in recovery. A lot of us came in with backwards loyalty — loyal to the wrong people, the wrong habits, the wrong beliefs, even the wrong version of ourselves. We confused loyalty with attachment, with people-pleasing, or with tolerating behavior that was destroying us.

Real loyalty looks different.
Real loyalty is alignment — with truth, with growth, with responsibility, and with the person you’re trying to become. Recovery asks us to reshape where our loyalty goes: not to the chaos we came from, but to the integrity we’re building...

“When Wisdom Calls and Trouble Whispers”

Today is our very first episode of God Centered Recovery, hosted by Roger McDiarmid and Dion Miller. We’re kicking things off with Proverbs 1 — a chapter that captures a truth every person in recovery can relate to: wisdom calls out loudly, but trouble whispers quietly… and that whisper often sounds way too familiar.

In this episode, Roger brings insight into the themes of Proverbs 1 while Dion connects those ideas to real-life recovery. Together, we talk about:

We judge ourselves by our intentions, but the world experiences us through our actions. And recovery sits right in the middle of that tension.

Intentions matter — they show where our heart is pointed. But intentions without accountability? That’s how we stay sick. That’s how we repeat the same behaviors, hurt the same people, and convince ourselves we’re “trying” when nothing actually changes.

Accountability is where growth happens. It’s where honesty replaces excuses. It’s where we stop explaining and start doing. It’s where character is built, not talked about. It’s the bridge between...

People think healing makes you softer, gentler, more agreeable. But the truth? The healed version of you will look “meaner” — not because you turned into a jerk, but because you finally stopped letting people walk all over you.

Healing doesn’t turn you into a saint. It turns you into someone who values their own peace. Someone who doesn’t apologize for boundaries. Someone who doesn’t shrink to keep other people comfortable. Someone who says “no,” means it, and sleeps fine afterward.

In today’s Daily Trudge, we’re breaking down:

We don’t get sober just to stop drinking — we get sober because something inside us wakes up. A deep desire to live usefully. A desire to stop hiding, stop destroying, and start showing up for life in a way that actually matters.

Living usefully isn’t about being perfect. It isn’t about saving the world. It’s about being honest, present, dependable, and willing. It’s about taking everything we’ve been through — even the darkest parts — and letting it serve someone else who’s still struggling.

In today’s Daily Trudge we talk about:

We’re not here to be perfect — we’re here to grow. And sometimes growth comes dressed up as a slip, a setback, or a moment where our flaws get loud. That doesn’t make you a failure. It makes you human.

Today we’re talking about what it really means to look beyond the flaws — ours and other people’s — and why a slip can actually be progress when it wakes us up, humbles us, or gets us honest again.

In this Daily Trudge, we dig into:

Living sober is one thing. Living emotionally sober is where the real work starts.
Most of us didn’t drink because life was hard — we drank because feelings were hard. Emotional sobriety is the ability to sit in life without letting our reactions run the show.

In today’s Daily Trudge, we’re breaking down what emotional sobriety actually means, why it’s harder than putting the drink down, and the simple tools that make the biggest impact. No fluff. No sugarcoating. Just real recovery.

What you’ll walk away with:

In recovery, we feel deeply — fear, shame, joy, insecurity, hope.
But here’s where a lot of us get tangled up:

We start treating feelings like facts.
“If I feel unworthy, I am unworthy.”
“If I feel abandoned, they must be abandoning me.”
“If I feel anger, someone else must have caused it.”

But feelings aren’t facts — they’re signals.
They’re valid, they matter, and they point to something inside us…
…but they do not automatically represent truth.

Today we’ll talk about how to honor our emotions without let...

“Repairing the Damage” is more than making amends — it’s about becoming the kind of person who doesn’t keep creating new wreckage.
In recovery, we look back and see the emotional, spiritual, and relational destruction our drinking caused. It’s overwhelming if we stare at it all at once. But the program teaches us a different way:

One conversation at a time.
One behavior change at a time.
One willingness moment at a time.

Today we’ll talk about how repairing damage isn’t about perfection or groveling — it’s about responsibility, humi...

In recovery, we don’t always need fancy words or deep philosophy — sometimes the truth just needs to be spoken plainly. Today we’re breaking down recovery without the fluff, without the buzzwords, and without pretending everything is fine when it isn’t.

We’ll talk about what’s really going on under the surface:

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#addiction #recovery #mentalhealth #addictionrecovery #sobriety #sober #love #soberlife #recoveryispossible #mentalhealthawareness #depression #alcoholism #addictionawareness #soberliving #drugaddiction #wedorecover #anxiety #onedayatatime #soberaf #addict #drugs #alcoholicsanonymous #rehab #selfcare #motivation #healing #steps #alcoholf...

“Practice these principles in all our affairs” — the line every alcoholic skips over until life smacks us in the face.

This isn’t about being perfect. It’s about consistency.

Anyone can be spiritual in a meeting. Anyone can be humble when life is going their way. But real recovery shows up at work, in traffic, in relationships, in conflict, in fear…

In all our affairs means:
• When we feel attacked
• When we feel tired
• When we don’t want to be patient
• When our ego is loud
• When our character defec...

Not everyone we meet in recovery plays the same role — and knowing the difference can save your sobriety.

Today we’re breaking down three of the most misunderstood relationships in recovery: the Sponsor, the Temporary Sponsor, and the Closed-Mouthed Friend.

A Sponsor walks you through the Steps, tells you the truth even when you don’t want to hear it, and helps you build a spiritual foundation that won’t collapse when life hits.

A Temporary Sponsor is the person who keeps you from drifting until you find the right long-term fit… someone to get you...

Emotional sobriety doesn’t come free — it costs comfort, ego, self-pity, and the illusion that we can control everything. The moment we stop drinking, we start facing the real work: feeling feelings, taking responsibility, letting go, and learning how to respond instead of react.

Emotional sobriety is the point where recovery stops being about not drinking and starts being about living differently. Today we talk about what it costs, why it’s worth it, and how it becomes the foundation for long-term serenity.🔔 Subscribe for more Daily Sobriety Motivation:
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#addiction...

Betrayal hits differently for alcoholics. It doesn’t just hurt — it reopens every old wound, every fear, every lie we told ourselves, and every lie that was told to us. But recovery gives us something we never had before: a path from betrayal to real closure.

Closure isn’t about forgetting, pretending, or minimizing what happened. It’s about reclaiming our peace, releasing the poison, and removing the power that betrayal has had over our lives.

Today we dig into how we move from being wounded to being free — through honesty, boundaries, forgiveness (when we’re ready), a...

A little update on Trudging Together

In AA we hear it all the time — “the Steps are suggested.”

But suggested like a friendly menu option… or suggested like gravity?

The truth is, the Steps are “suggested” the same way opening a parachute when you jump out of a plane is “suggested.” Nobody is forcing you — but the results speak for themselves.

Today we’re talking about what “suggested” really means, why the Steps aren’t optional if you want long-term freedom, and how picking and choosing only the comfortable parts keeps us spiritually sick.

🔔 Subscribe for more Daily Sobriety Motivation: Duration: 00:43:54

Quitting drinking is only the beginning. What we choose not to do after we put the bottle down is just as important as what we choose to do.

In this Daily Trudge, we’re covering the most common traps that take recovering alcoholics off the beam — resentment, isolation, self-pity, drifting from the basics, and thinking we’re “good now.”

Staying sober means avoiding the behaviors that pull us back into fear, ego, and self-destruction.

Today we talk about the things we don’t do if we want long-term sobriety:
• Don’t isolate
• Don’t stop...

“Let Go and Let God” gets misunderstood all the time. Some people think it means giving up, backing out, shutting down, or sitting on their hands waiting for a miracle. But that’s not recovery — and that’s not God.

Letting go is not defeat.
Letting go is not apathy.
Letting go is release — release of the illusion that we control everything.

Today we’re talking about the REAL meaning of “Let Go and Let God”:

Codependency is when our emotional well-being depends on someone else’s behavior, reactions, approval, or chaos. It’s the habit of trying to fix, manage, or control other people while ignoring our own needs.

In recovery, codependency is just as destructive as the addiction itself — because it keeps us living through others instead of living our own lives.

Today we’re talking about how codependency forms, how it affects relationships, and how we break free by setting boundaries, building self-worth, and letting people carry their own weight.

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https...

Serving our brother means showing up for others the way someone once showed up for us. In recovery, service isn’t charity — it’s survival. When we focus on helping another alcoholic, our ego quiets down, our purpose becomes clear, and God works through us in ways we could never manage on our own.
Today we talk about what real service looks like, why it’s not always convenient or comfortable, and why helping our brother is one of the most powerful spiritual actions we can take.

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One of the most misunderstood principles in recovery is “Attraction, not promotion.”
It’s not about selling recovery. It’s not about convincing anyone. And it’s definitely not about flashy promises or ego-driven outreach.

Attraction is about how we live, not what we say.
It’s the calm in our voice, the consistency in our actions, the peace in our spirit, and the authenticity in our walk that makes others lean in and ask, “What changed?”

Today we’re breaking down what attraction really means, why promotion fails us, and how living the program become...

Gratitude isn’t just saying “thank you.” In recovery, gratitude is a spiritual position — a way of seeing the world that keeps us sober, sane, and connected to God.

It shifts our focus from what’s missing to what’s been given… from what we’ve lost to what we’ve gained… from self-pity to purpose.

When we practice gratitude, our minds calm down, our hearts open up, and our perspective changes. It is one of the fastest ways to get out of self and reconnect with the truth:

We are living a life we once prayed...

Recovery introduces us to a new reality — one we never expected, rarely feel ready for, and often resist at first. The old way of living was chaotic but familiar. The new way? Honest, spiritual, connected, and grounded.

This shift isn’t about pretending everything is great; it’s about seeing life through new eyes. Pain hits different. Joy hits different. Responsibility hits different. And with that comes a new freedom, one built on truth instead of denial.

Today we talk about stepping into that new reality — the one God, recovery, and the Steps keep pointing us towar...

“Do I really have to forgive?”

Most of us ask this at some point — usually when someone has hurt us so deeply that forgiveness feels impossible, unfair, or like we’re letting them off the hook.

But in recovery, forgiveness isn’t about excusing the harm. It’s about freeing ourselves from the poison we’ve been carrying.

Resentment chains us to the past. Trauma keeps us frozen. Anger wears us out.

Forgiveness is how we break free — not how they get away with anything.

Today we explore:
• Why forgiveness is...

In recovery, we don’t heal alone — we heal together. Finding your tribe means finding the people who walk beside you, challenge you, call you on your BS, celebrate your wins, and remind you who you truly are.

Your tribe isn’t always your family. It’s not always your old friends. It’s the people who share your experience, speak your language, and help you grow — spiritually, emotionally, and honestly.

Today we talk about how to recognize the people who belong on your journey… and how to gently release the ones who don’t.

No one tru...

In recovery, not every emotional reaction is a resentment — and not every painful memory is “just trauma.” But we mix the two up all the time.

A resentment is usually about anger, ego, expectations, and old wounds we keep feeding.
Trauma is about deep emotional injury that shaped our nervous system, beliefs, and reactions.

One needs inventory.
The other needs healing.

Today we talk about how to tell the difference, how each one affects our recovery, and why mislabeling trauma as a resentment can actually do more harm than good.

We’l...

Live and Let Live” sounds simple, but for alcoholics it’s one of the hardest spiritual principles to practice. We want to control everything — outcomes, people, opinions, emotions… all of it.

But recovery teaches us that peace comes when we stop running other people’s lives and start focusing on our own.

Today we’re talking about what “Live and Let Live” actually means in daily recovery:
• Letting people be who they are
• Dropping the need to fix or manage others
• Staying in our lane emotionally and spiritually
• Giving grace without losing boundaries

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There comes a point in recovery where we stop living in a world of spiritual make-believe and start living in spiritual reality. The Big Book tells us that the childish dream world we once clung to is replaced by a deep sense of purpose and a growing awareness of God working in our lives.

But that awareness isn’t meant to lift us out of the world — it’s meant to prepare us for service in it.

“Keep your head in the clouds with Him, but your feet firmly planted on earth.”

That’s where our...

In recovery, we love to complicate things. We overthink, overwork, overreact, and try to control everything. But the solution has always been the same: Keep it simple.

When we strip away the drama, fear, and ego, the basics still work — meetings, honesty, service, prayer, and staying connected. The moment we drift into chaos, it’s usually because we stopped doing the simple things that keep us grounded.

Today we talk about getting back to basics, slowing down, and remembering that recovery isn’t complicated… we are.

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In the Big Book, we’re told flat-out: “Selfishness—self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles.”

Most of us didn’t get sober because we were living selfless lives. We got sober because our self-will ran straight into a brick wall — and took everyone around us with it.

Today we dig into the truth that no alcoholic likes to face:
We cause most of our own pain.

Self-will.
Fear.
Control.
Expectations.

When we’re in self, everything hurts. When we’re in God, everything changes.

...

Principle Nine — Justice — isn’t about punishment, score-keeping, or trying to make life “fair.”
In recovery, justice is about living honestly, taking responsibility, and treating people with the same dignity we expect in return.

Justice in the spiritual sense means:
• We tell the truth even when it’s uncomfortable
• We stop blaming others for our pain
• We clean up our side of the street
• We repair harm where we can, and stop creating new harm

When alcohol ruled our lives, fairness went out the window. We hurt people, we lied, we hid, we manipulat...

In today’s episode, Dion sits down with Stacy, founder of Sands of Hope Recovery, for one of the most honest and heartfelt conversations we’ve had on this show. Stacy shares the story behind her recovery business—named in honor of her mother—and opens up about how prevention, lived experience, and compassion shape the way she supports people in recovery.

We dive deep into:

Why recovery coaching matters more than ever

The reality of growing up around alcoholism and dysfunction

Why prevention for youth is critical—and where education takes over...

We all walk into recovery carrying wounds — some we caused, some caused by others, and some we’ve kept alive far longer than necessary. The real spiritual work begins when we stop spreading the hurt and start becoming instruments of healing.

Inspired by the spirit of the St. Francis prayer (without the religious packaging), today we talk about what it really means to bring peace where there is conflict, forgiveness where there is resentment, and love where there is fear.

This isn’t about being perfect — it’s about being willing.
Willing to pause.
Willin...

Why is it that we can give patience, kindness, and understanding to people we barely know — but the second we walk into our own home, our fuse gets shorter, our tone gets sharper, and our grace runs out?

In recovery, we learn that the real test of spiritual growth isn’t how we act at a meeting… it’s how we treat the people we live with, love, and sometimes take for granted.

Today we dig into:
• Why it’s easier to be patient with strangers
• Why our loved ones trigger old behaviors
• How emot...

In today’s Daily Trudge, we’re talking about a hard truth:
Alcoholism doesn’t just destroy the drinker — it reshapes the entire family system.

Families living with alcoholism often become defined by:
• chaos,
• secrecy,
• denial,
• emotional volatility,
• and roles that no one ever asked for.

The alcoholic isn’t the only one who gets sick — everyone under that roof learns to survive in a dysfunctional environment.

The Big Book tells us that the alcoholic is “like a tornado roaring through the lives of others.” But what it doesn’t fully explore i...

In today’s Daily Trudge, we’re talking about something the recovery world doesn’t always want to admit — people judge what they don’t understand.

Ever been told you’re “too much,” “too emotional,” “too intense,” or that you should just “get over it”?

That usually comes from people who’ve never stood on the front lines with us.

The front lines of addiction.
The front lines of trauma.
The front lines of rebuilding your life from ashes.

Before anyone critiques your journey, your emotions, or your struggles, they should try walking a sing...

In today’s Daily Trudge, we’re talking about expectations and the little things — two areas that can either build our serenity or completely destroy it.

Expectations are resentments waiting to happen. They tell us how life should go, how people should act, and how recovery should feel.

But peace doesn’t live in should.
It lives in what is.

When we slow down and start noticing the small stuff — a quiet morning, a friend’s text, the fact that we woke up sober — that’s where gratitude grows, and expectations lose their grip.

In today’s Daily Trudge, we’re shining a light on one of the sneakiest threats to long-term sobriety: Big Shotism — the idea that I’ve got this now, I’m different, or the rules don’t apply to me anymore.

The Big Book warns us that when ego takes over, sanity slips out the back door. Big Shotism isn’t loud — it’s subtle. It shows up as:
• Thinking you’re “too good” for the basics
• Giving advice instead of taking direction
• Forgetting where you came from
• Confusing spiritual progress with spiritual superiority

The antidote...

In today’s Daily Trudge, we’re talking about one of the most common — but least admitted — challenges in recovery: loneliness.

Loneliness isn’t just being alone. It’s the feeling of being disconnected, unseen, or spiritually empty. And for many of us, loneliness was the engine that drove our drinking.

The Big Book tells us we were people who “didn’t belong,” who lived in separation, fear, and self-pity. When we put the bottle down, those feelings don’t magically disappear.

But the beautiful part?

Recovery gives us tools, community, and a Higher Power b...

In today’s Daily Trudge, we’re diving into a skill that most alcoholics struggle with — the art of delayed gratification.

Our disease taught us to chase the quick fix: the drink, the escape, the comfort, the emotional hit. But recovery teaches us something far more powerful:

Not everything good happens instantly — and not everything instant is good.

Delayed gratification is where emotional sobriety really begins.

It’s choosing long-term peace over short-term relief.
It’s sitting with discomfort instead of escaping it.
It’s trusting that what God has ahead is b...

In today’s Daily Trudge, we’re taking it back to where recovery truly begins:
The admission of personal powerlessness.

Before the healing, before the Steps, before the promises — there’s a moment where we finally admit the truth:

I can’t do this on my own.

This isn’t weakness. This is awakening.

The Big Book tells us that alcohol is “cunning, baffling, powerful,” and that without help, it will beat us every time.

But the second we admit defeat — the second we surrender — the whole program opens up.

Pow...

In today’s Daily Trudge, we’re hitting one of the most reliable truths in recovery:
When in doubt… get out of self.

Most of our problems don’t come from the world — they come from the way we react to it. When I’m stuck in fear, anger, resentment, or self-pity, 99% of the time the solution is spiritual, simple, and humbling:

Get out of self and into service, honesty, gratitude, or God’s will.

The Big Book reminds us that selfishness and self-centeredness are the root of our troubles — and that freedom comes th...

In today’s Daily Trudge, we’re asking one of the hardest questions in recovery:
Am I living the AA program — or just visiting it?

Anybody can go to meetings. Anybody can say the slogans. But living the program means we’ve taken the Steps off the wall and put them into our daily life.

It’s easy to get comfortable — to coast, to socialize, to make recovery look good on the outside while we’re still running the show on the inside.

But the program doesn’t work in theory. It works in practic...

In today’s Daily Trudge, we’re talking about two spiritual principles that walk hand in hand — Humility and Responsibility.

Humility reminds us we’re not running the show.
Responsibility reminds us that we still have a part to play.

In recovery, humility without responsibility turns into passivity — and responsibility without humility turns into ego.

The goal isn’t perfection. It’s balance.

God does the heavy lifting, but He expects us to pick up the tools.

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In today’s Recovery Watchdog, we’re talking about something real — the two types of people that work in the recovery field.

You’ve got the ones who do it because they care — because they’ve lived it, survived it, and want to give back.
And then you’ve got the ones who do it for the career — the paycheck, the power, the prestige.

The first type shows up early, stays late, and keeps showing up even when nobody’s watching.
The second type shows up for the photo op.

The recovery field nee...

In today’s Daily Trudge, we’re going back to the roots — The Four Absolutes:
Honesty, Purity, Unselfishness, and Love.

Long before the Twelve Steps were written, these were the spiritual yardsticks used by the Oxford Group — and they still measure how well we’re living our recovery today.

These aren’t rules — they’re reminders.

Am I being honest, or just careful with the truth?
Am I choosing purity, or bending my values to fit comfort?
Am I thinking of others, or myself?
Am I acting in love, or in fear?

Every day in recovery starts the same way: with a chance to choose our mindset.
Before the phone, before the coffee, before the world starts spinning, we stop and think of the day ahead.

It’s not about predicting what’s coming — it’s about preparing our spirit for it.
When I ask God to direct my thinking, I’m really saying, “Keep me out of my own way today.”

The Big Book reminds us that we don’t surrender our brains; we just stop using them as weapons.
When my motives line up with God...

In today’s Daily Trudge, we’re talking about one of the hardest truths in recovery: apologies don’t mean a thing without action.

Step 9 teaches us to make direct amends, but real amends aren’t just words — they’re consistent change.

We don’t fix the past by rewriting it; we heal it by living differently today.

Saying “sorry” may open the door, but changed behavior keeps it open.

This is where recovery gets real — when the people we hurt stop needing to believe our promises because they can see our progress.

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In today’s Daily Trudge, we’re talking about the cost of freedom.

Everyone wants freedom — from addiction, from fear, from the past. But freedom isn’t something we get; it’s something we earn by showing up, doing the work, and staying honest even when it hurts.

The price? Ego. Comfort. Excuses.

The payoff? Peace. Purpose. Serenity.

Sobriety doesn’t come cheap — it costs everything that was keeping us sick.

But the freedom we fin...

In today’s Daily Trudge, we’re talking about the cost of freedom.

Everyone wants freedom — from addiction, from fear, from the past. But freedom isn’t something we get; it’s something we earn by showing up, doing the work, and staying honest even when it hurts.

The price? Ego. Comfort. Excuses.

The payoff? Peace. Purpose. Serenity.

Sobriety doesn’t come cheap — it costs everything that was keeping us sick.

But the freedom we find on the other side? Worth every ounce of pain it took to get there.

...

In today’s Daily Trudge, we’re diving into a tough but important question: Is it a resentment… or is it trauma?

In recovery, we’re taught to let go of resentments — to forgive, move on, and clean our side of the street. But what happens when that “resentment” is really unhealed trauma?

You can’t spiritually bypass pain that’s rooted in deep wounds. Some things don’t need to be “let go of” — they need to be understood, felt, and healed.

There’s a big difference between holding onto anger and protecting your heart.

In today’s Daily Trudge, we’re talking about when character building becomes a priority.

In the beginning, it’s all about survival — staying sober one day at a time, just trying to get through the storm.

But as time goes on, recovery calls us to something deeper. Sobriety isn’t the finish line — it’s the foundation.

Real freedom comes when we start working on who we are — honesty, humility, patience, forgiveness, courage, faith. That’s the character-building part.

The Big Book says we’re building a “new life based on honesty, tolerance...

In today’s Daily Trudge, we’re talking about expectations and the little things — two areas that can either build our serenity or completely destroy it.

Expectations are resentments waiting to happen. They tell us how life should go, how people should act, and how recovery should feel.

But peace doesn’t live in should.
It lives in what is.

When we slow down and start noticing the small stuff — a quiet morning, a friend’s text, the fact that we woke up sober — that’s where gratitude grows, and expectations lose their grip.

In today’s Daily Trudge, I’m talking about the effect we can have on others — often without even knowing it.

In recovery, our greatest impact usually comes from how we live, not what we say.

A newcomer might see your calm in chaos and think, “Maybe I can do this.”
Someone struggling might hear your laughter and remember that joy exists.
And sometimes, the person most affected by your honesty… is you.

We don’t control outcomes — but we do control presence.

Show up. Be real. Let your recovery speak l...

In today’s Daily Trudge, we’re talking about the quality of faith — not how much of it you have, but how real it is.

Faith isn’t a feeling. It’s not a theory. It’s a daily decision to trust something greater — especially when nothing makes sense.

The Big Book tells us, “To be vital, faith must be accompanied by self-sacrifice and unselfish, constructive action.”

In other words: faith that just sits still isn’t faith — it’s wishful thinking.

Real faith walks. It works. It moves mountains one day at a time.

🔔...

In today’s Daily Trudge, we’re talking about self-worth — something most of us lost long before we ever took our first drink.

Addiction tore down our confidence, our dignity, and our sense of purpose. But the truth is, our worth never left — it just got buried under the wreckage.

Recovery isn’t about becoming someone new; it’s about remembering who you were before the world told you otherwise.

You are worthy of healing. You are worthy of love. You are worthy of a life that doesn’t hurt.

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In today’s Daily Trudge, we’re talking about what happens when you move from just not drinking to truly living in the Spirit.

The Big Book says, “We have entered the world of the Spirit.” That’s not some far-off mystical idea — it’s what happens when we surrender fully, start practicing the Steps, and stop trying to run the show.

When we enter that new dimension, everything shifts.
The fear that used to run our lives loses power.
The obsession to control fades.
And we begin to live on faith, not feelings.<...