Accepting The Past

Carly BensonSobrietyLeave a Comment

accepting the past carly benson

One of the biggest hurdles for me entering into sobriety was accepting that I had a problem. It was so hard to face the music, swallow my pride and admit that my drinking and drugging was not normal. I had to accept that I couldn’t do moderation, I needed help and that I needed to accept my past for what … Read More

Sobriety Requires Surrender

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sobriety surrender

Sweet, sober surrender. It’s a constant process. It’s a consistent tug on the pride strings. It takes courage.  I give things up to God, my higher power, on the regular, and then I catch myself taking them right back. One of the hardest parts of sobriety is admitting, “I don’t got this.” Surrendering to the fact that alcohol or drugs … Read More

Sobriety is a Lifestyle

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sobriety is a lifestyle carly benson

If you or anyone you know has struggled with alcoholism or addiction, my guess is that moderation, or lack thereof, is the basis for those struggles. For me, I couldn’t just have a couple drinks and call it a night. It was always balls to the wall, nights that turned into sunrise, the whole bottle instead of a couple cocktails … Read More

Sobriety And Fear Of Missing Out

Carly BensonSobriety3 Comments

sobriety and fear of missing out

One of the hardest things I remember about giving up the party scene was a constant fear of missing out by not going out or being there. Sobriety and fear of missing out often go hand in hand. “What if something fun happens that I miss?” “What if they have fun without me?” “I’m so lame for staying in and … Read More

Sobriety Begins With Awareness

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advice on going sober awareness

I have a lot of people that approach me about going sober and I’ve also noticed a lot of people in my circles of friends who want to give it a try for 30-60-90 days. It seems to be a reoccurring theme so I decided to write more pieces with advice for going sober to talk about what the sobriety … Read More

Overcoming Shame and Guilt

Carly BensonPersonal DevelopmentLeave a Comment

overcoming shame and guilt

I recently completed training to become a Certified Christian Life Coach. I’m going through the certification process and have already started working with a few clients on faith and spiritual development as well as sobriety mentoring. An area of study that I’ve personally spent a lot of time on is overcoming shame and guilt. This comes up in so many … Read More

Self Love Is The Beginning of All Love

Carly BensonPersonal DevelopmentLeave a Comment

Carly Benson self love naples pier

Throughout my spiritual journey of finding God and living in sobriety, I’ve been presented with deep life lessons along the way. I’m convinced that life is a never-ending process of refinement, shaping, molding and transforming. A process within that process is learning what it means to love yourself, accept who you are and begin to step forth into your most … Read More

5 Realities Of Taking Action

Carly BensonPersonal DevelopmentLeave a Comment

carly benson colosseum rome

I have been staring at a blank page for days, knowing that I need to write, but feeling somewhat paralyzed to move my fingers. I stopped taking action. I stopped writing on a consistent basis. I just completed training to be a certified life coach coupled with a hectic yet blessed travel schedule, which are just well executed excuses when … Read More

33 Things Sobriety Taught Me To Be Thankful For

Carly BensonSobrietyLeave a Comment

carly benson yoga handstand cabo

Significant life change starts with a simple change of perspective and is sustained through the practice of unconditional gratitude.  -Carly Benson I just got back from an amazing trip to Cabo San Lucas, where I was celebrating my commitment to major life change, exercising constant courage and the anniversary of my retirement from a deep-seeded career in alcohol and cocaine … Read More

4 Tips To Successfully Break A Habit

Carly BensonTransformation1 Comment

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Today marks exactly 30 days off coffee for me. Surprisingly the first 10 days were easier than the last couple of weeks. It really got me to thinking about how we are such creatures of habit. I began to examine what worked for me in breaking this habit of coffee drinking, which, for anyone that knows me, has been that … Read More