Doing too much future thinking about times that will be harder for me to not drink.. like the snow storm coming up (I hate shoveling sober lol), vacations, dating.. etc. Is this a good thing so I'm on guard or should I only stay present and get through a moment at a time?
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I think it is ok to be aware of possible triggers coming up. I have this issue too, I am constantly trying to stay in the here and now because if I get too involved with future or past……. The downward spiral begins. It is hard to do.
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Thank you Eric for your input…. You're probably right…should have triggers in mind but find the balance on not obsessing about it. I jsut feel like once these things come up I'm not going to want to do it sober and then it snow balls into trying to convince myself to only drink during those times … and then there i go in my head arguing with myself. Thanks for letting me vent 
I hate thinking about triggers because I find them overwhelming. But as Erik said it's good to be aware they may come up. I guess writing down a game plan to combat the triggers probably would help.
Shoveling snow trigger could be resolved by listening to your favorite music while shoveling. Or having a sleep over with a friend- and you can shovel your place and celebrate with hot cocoa; then, go to your friend's house to shovel their snow and have lunch together.
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Thank you so much for those ideas….. I am going to try to set up little rewards for some of these times. I once tried to trick my brother into hanging out during a snow storm once but he saw right through me. Lol I'm going to come up with a reward plan though I like that idea. Music for sure would make it more enjoyable!
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I do a lot of future tripping myself, mostly about finances. What helps me is staying present and doing the one day at a time thing. Sometimes I'll even divide the day by 3 into morning, midday, and night and stay present to those segments of the day.
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Great idea as well. I've definitely have had more difficulty staying present since I stopped drinking. I like this suggestion as well.
Gotta love brothers.
Let me know what you come up with.
Ok I stopped at the store on the way home from work and got these. Now the trick is to not eat them all up by wed and Thurs 
. I will figure out non food rewards eventually otherwise I'll go from a bad liver to diabetes instead but for now this is it. 
the fact that you’re anxious about certain triggers in the future, at the very least, can serve as “proof” that your sobriety is important to you. at the same time, and as other people said in this thread, getting to caught up with what might happen can be detrimental too. have you ever tried using affirmations/mantras? I have crazy bad anxiety/OCD and this has been one of the most effective tools I’ve found
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Actually I used to give myself pep talks and use mantras alot it's funny you mentioned this because I just thought about it the other day and how I never do it anymore. Time to start again! Do you want to share any of your mantras or is that personal?
I think it's really important to stay grounded in the present, as others have said. What you're describing is commonly known as future tripping or fortune telling and it can be detrimental. The trick is to find the line between legit planning for the future and just worrying or even obsessing over things you can't really influence at all.
I like the idea to reward yourself like that, I might start using it
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Thanks Matt! Yeah I have been told I have issues with “predicting the future” which is impossible. I think I'm going to get a little lock box of some rewards for those tough times … I'm trying to think of anything other than candy maybe I can also put into the box like I'm def saving money on not buying so much alcohol that I can throw that money on there and one day when I have enough saved up treat myself to a pedicure or day trip somewhere. Just thinking out loud 
Dont waste time focusing on the future it usually cause you to worry too much. Being in the present keeps you productive and aware.
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staying productive is really important.
That’s what always happens to me - I forget to use them then am like OH YEAH these were working why’d I stop lol well as of today and yesterday, my mantra has simply been “thank you” - I fell asleep silently repeating it last night and it’s the best rest I’ve gotten in a while. when I’m having financial insecurity, I chant the seed mantra “LAM” which is associated with the root chakra ok im going into spiritual rambling territory
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Lolll I know exactly what you mean.. like I'll start wondering why I'm starting to get into a negative mood and I'll be like oh duh… I've literally done nothing to prevent that from happening. Its nice that it's not as much work as it once was for me but if I do no mindfulness exercises it does slowly undo a bit. You can rant away all you want I've always been interested in that kind of stuff. It's definitely worked for me over my life time.
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Perhaps I’ll make a “spiritual ranting” thread soon 
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