How to Maintain the Fire of Recovery

“Become the person you were meant to be, light your inner fire and follow your heart’s desire.” -Leon Brown, American Baseball Player

A fire starts small and grows as you continue to feed it. When you stop feeding the fire, it will no longer grow and will burn out. In recovery, you may also need to continue fueling your health and wellness to continue to grow. Your inner fire can ignite as you learn your true passions and motivations. The motivation for change and growth is the heat that ignites flames. Fires do not burn well without support blocking out the winds that can exhaust the flames. What are some of the key elements to maintaining the fire of recovery?

Motivation: The Heat

What were the things that inspired you to make a change? While you may have been in treatment due to external pressures, ultimately, you needed to find your own motives to continue with recovery. When a fire loses heat, it can go out. A fire can lose its brightness without necessarily losing its heat. When you let a campfire burnout through the night the flames can go away. In recovery, there may be dark times when you feel like you cannot see the light. You may lose the flames. A campfire can be stoked back to life when there is still heat. You can breathe new life into the heat and bring the brightness of the flames back.

When you feel lost and alone or a lack of passion, remember to look back to the motivation that inspired you to change. A fire may lose its flames but can be quickly reignited if the heat remains. During the dark times, remember what made you want to make a change from the beginning. Think back about how your life was before treatment. Recall the reasons why you went through the challenges of recovery. When you give attention to your internal motives and recall them, you can reignite your passions and find the brightness.

Coping Skills: The Fuel

Maintaining a fire requires regular attention and fuel to continue burning brightly. You have to continue putting logs or sticks into the flames to keep the fire going. When the flames begin to die down, you need to put more fuel into the fire. When your fire starts to lose brightness, are you letting it die down or finding more fuel? The coping skills that you learned during treatment can help you keep the flames burning.

Recovery is a journey for a lifetime. You can keep your fire burning by learning new ways to lead a happy and healthy life. You can continue to engage in activities or therapies that helped you see the light. Keep your fire roaring by always challenging yourself and fueling your flames. Continue to do the right things that have helped you come this far in your journey. What coping skills have helped you the most? What meaningful activities make you burn with passion? Remember to keep a fire going, you have to be consistent. When you stop paying attention to the flames, you risk losing the fire. While you can stoke the heat back to life, you will find it easier to continue maintaining the fire with consistent attention to its needs.

Support: The Fire Ring

Starting a fire in an open field will leave it vulnerable to the wind blowing it out completely or leading it out of control. The stones surrounding the flames help to keep it from spreading wildly or being snuffed out. The fire ring supports the fire’s growth with protection and guidance. A fire continues to burn not just due to its own heat and fuel but because of the support surrounding it. Without support to stop the wind, you risk losing the fire. To maintain your fire, you also need to maintain the support around it. A fire ring may start to cave in or crumble without your attention. You may also need to build a bigger ring as you grow your fire.

What supports have helped you during treatment? Did you attend support groups and build friendships with peers? Was your family there for you during your recovery? Without continuing to build and maintain the relationships with your support system, you might be risking going out of control or back into a dark place. You risk letting your fire burn out of control or you risk losing your flames. Your support system can continue to guide you and help you through life. You may have the desire to grow further in your challenges and need to expand your support system, like expanding the ring of your fire. As you continue to grow, your support system will grow as well.

Fire Mountain can help those in recovery maintain their wellness. We are here to support those in recovery to continue on the right path. Fire Mountain continues to put out content on our podcast and YouTube channel to help those maintaining their recovery. You can keep your fire burning. Continue to fuel the flames and remember what your inner passions are. Remember your reasons for entering treatment and recovery. Continue learning new coping skills and utilizing those that you have mastered. Continue to build relationships and surround yourself with supportive people to help guide you and to protect you from losing your flames. Fire Mountain is here to help if you are continuing to struggle.

Call us at (303) 443-3343.

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