At the beginning of a new year, I like to take some time to reflect on the past year, and to set some intentions for the new year. (Please note: intentions are not resolutions!)







This year, I took these questions from another email group I'm a member of, and asked you to reflect on them. In this episode, we hear from Deborah, Ashley, and Spencer.









* What worked?







* What didn't work?







* What did I learn?







* How did I change?







* What is left unresolved or incomplete and how does that feel?









I didn't explicitly ask, but we also considered what recovery tools or principles we used or followed.







Upcoming topics







We continue to explore the 12 Steps, with Steps 8–12 upcoming. Please call us at 734-707-8795 or email feedback@therecovery.show with your questions or experience, strength and hope. Or just leave a comment right here.



















Transcript

















Intro







[00:00:00 ] Spencer: What was last year like for you? What worked or didn't work? What did you learn? What changed? How do you feel? How did your recovery grow?







[00:00:11 ] Welcome to episode 426 of The Recovery Show. This episode is brought to you by Susan, Sarah, Heather, Lauren, and Jay. They used the donation button on our website. Thank you, Susan, Sarah, Heather, Lauren, and Jay for your generous contributions. This episode is for you.







[00:00:30 ] We are friends and family members of alcoholics and addicts who have found a path to serenity and happiness. We who live or have lived with the seemingly hopeless problem of addiction understand as perhaps few others can. So much depends on our own attitudes and we believe that changed attitudes can aid recovery.







[00:00:46 ] Before we begin, we would like to state that in this show we represent ourselves rather than any 12 step program. During this show, we will share our own experiences. The opinions expressed here are strictly those of the person who gave them. Take what you like and leave the rest. We hope that you will find something inner sharing that speaks to your life.







[00:01:06 ] My name is Spencer. I am your solo host today.







Reflections on 2024







[00:01:10 ] Spencer: At the end of an old year, beginning of a new year, I always like to do an episode of reflection and possibly looking ahead. I cribbed a prompt from another email group that I'm part of, about reflecting on the past year, the questions that It asked, were, what worked, what didn't work, what did I learn, how did I change, what is left unresolved or incomplete and how does that feel.







[00:01:39 ] I sent this prompt out to the Google group email list and I got a couple of responses. We'll start with those.







[00:01:48 ] Deborah wrote, Hi Spencer, wishing you a happy new year. I've had a very interesting year and sending this response helped me reflect on the progress I've made and work I still need to do.







[00:01:58 ] The last few years, I have stolen an idea from Maria Shriver. She, and now many of her readers, select a word to guide their year. Last year, I chose acceptance. Acceptance of myself, my loved ones, my need to do more work on myself. Staying focused on acceptance really helped me stay in my own lane, mind my own business, and resist reacting to every situation.







[00:02:22 ] I paused, prayed and took a lot of deep breaths.