Maintaining Sobriety: Practical Tips for Entrepreneurs
As an entrepreneur coach and a recovering business owner myself, I understand the intense pressure of running a business.
The stress, long hours, and constant demand for performance can drive some of us toward harmful habits or people. If you’re navigating recovery while managing a high-pressure business, staying focused can be challenging. That’s why in this post, I’ll talk about practical ways to stay sober and thrive in your business. I will end with some more tips to help you live better as a business owner.
Firstly, we’ll discuss why sobriety matters and highlight successful entrepreneurs who have openly addressed their past struggles with substance abuse.
Reasons Why Maintaining Your Sobriety Matters
Sobriety isn’t just about avoiding legal troubles or proving your worth. It’s about living a fulfilling life, especially if you’re just starting your recovery journey. Addiction often tricks us into believing that our happiness depends on substances or unhealthy actions. However, you know this isn’t true.
Here are reasons why sobriety is important for both your business success and personal well-being:
Reason #1: Getting What You Really Want
When I started my recovery journey, one of my biggest goals was to feel connected—not just to others, but to myself. Using things and relying on people can make you feel more disconnected, not just from your emotional pain that hasn’t healed, but from everything around you.
In my experience with sex addiction, I moved from one partner to another, never truly feeling connected to myself or the person I was with. We both used each other to fulfill immediate needs—for me, it was seeking attention, and for my partner, it was physical satisfaction. It wasn’t a win-win because neither of us dared to ask for real intimacy.
Without relying on substances or people, you can finally see clearly what truly matters. Here is what it looks like:
- Knowing that a hug is better than taking a hit from your drug of choice.
- Ending the mindless scrolling through social media and talking with someone about your confusion and pain?
Sobriety allows you to move beyond cheap substitutes and look to people, places, and activities that support your self-care and well-being.
Reason #2: Ending the Acting In Behavior
Most people recovering from addiction know the deep shame it brings. The urge to act out often turns into a desire to hurt ourselves.
We might crave using drugs, taking a drink, or buying something impulsively. After a brief relief from these actions, we face an even worse craving: the urge itself. In recovery, this is known as “acting in.”
Acting in means turning our actions and thoughts inward. It involves harming ourselves mentally or emotionally, like blaming ourselves, avoiding others, or falling into unhealthy habits.
Unlike “acting out,” which involves outward behaviors like rage or substance abuse, “acting in” focuses on internal struggles that affect how we feel inside. For example, someone who is “acting in” might:
- Engage in negative self-talk or self-blame.
- Isolate themselves from friends and family.
- Ignore their personal health and well-being.
- Show signs of depression or anxiety.
- Let their personal space spiral into a toxic mess.
Reason #3: Real Connections with Others
Sobriety helps you form genuine connections with others. When you’re deep in addiction, relationships often involve using each other or only having shallow talks about non important things.
Even in early recovery, being around people who share similar struggles may feel like connection. But unless you’re actively healing, it can deepen hurt from the past and create unhealthy bonds.
Real connections mean accepting yourself as you are, flaws included. You don’t need to pretend everything is perfect or hide your struggles. In recovery, the goal is to build relationships based on honesty, trust, and respect. This not only improves your personal life but also creates a supportive network crucial for staying sober. Emotionally healthy people find it challenging to stay around those who engage in unhealthy actions.
Now, let’s discuss three examples of entrepreneurs who are successfully maintaining their sobriety.
Real Stories of Sober Entrepreneurs
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Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Group
Richard Branson has openly talked about his struggles with drugs in his youth. He credits his success to leading a healthy lifestyle and having supportive people around him. Branson shows through his life the need to find balance and take care of both physical and mental health to achieve long-term success with his sobriety.
Demi Lovato, Singer and Entrepreneur
Demi Lovato has been honest about her battle with addiction and recovery. She uses her platform to promote mental health and sobriety. Lovato stresses the importance of therapy, support groups, and self-compassion in staying sober. Her openness has encouraged many to seek help and improve their well-being.
Now that we’ve discussed why maintaining sobriety is important and heard from other business owners, let’s talk about how you can stay healthy and sober.
Today is a new day. I don't care how you did yesterday. Today make sure you move regularly, eat a healthy diet, and get enough sleep. Doing all these things will help you stay sober and feel better overall.
6 Tips to Maintaining Sobriety As a Business Owner
Initially getting dry from (fill-in-the-blank) is one thing.
Maintaining your sobriety longer than a couple of months, years or decades takes intention. Let’s dive into how to create a lifestyle that supports your health and wellbeing.
1. Have a Strong Support System
Having a strong support system is very important for anyone recovering from addiction. Being around supportive friends, family, and colleagues can give you the encouragement and support you need to stay sober. Here are some other ways to find support:
- Mentor or Coach: Look for someone who has been through similar experiences and can offer guidance and support. As a coach who understands both trauma and recovery from addiction, I know the challenges and successes of a healthy recovery journey.
- Support Groups: Groups like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Codependents Anonymous (CODA) hold meetings where you get to connect with like-minded people.
- Therapy: Find a therapist who understands addiction. They can give you tips as well as support. Group therapy can also be helpful for hearing how others are managing their own sobriety.
2. Practice Mindfulness or Meditation
Mindfulness and meditation are helpful for managing stress and staying focused on your sobriety goals. These practices can reduce anxiety, improve your focus, and help manage your emotions. Here are some simple exercises to try:
- Daily Meditation: Set aside time each day for meditation. Even just 10-15 minutes can make a difference in how you manage your feelings.
- Breath work: Try deep breathing or body scans, to stay grounded throughout the day.
- Journaling: Write down your thoughts and feelings daily to process emotions and reduce stress.
3. Protect Your Mind
When we were using, we didn’t have limits. Even when we tried to set them, we often broke them when strong emotions took over. Recovery changes that. Now, you’ll learn to set clear rules to avoid situations that may get a bit dicey. This means knowing out what’s okay and what will not work. Here’s how to do it:
- Identify Triggers: Understand what situations, people, or places make you want to use substances, and avoid them when you can.
- Know and Speak Your Limits: Tell the people in your world what your limits are and how they can help you stay sober.
- Plan Ahead: If you know you’ll be in a stressful situation, think ahead about how you’ll cope without turning to your drug of choice.
4. Improve Your Physical Health
Taking care of your body is linked to your mental well-being. If you’re always pushing yourself too much, it’s hard to avoid harmful habits.
Today is a new day. I don’t care how you did yesterday. Today make sure you move regularly, eat a healthy diet, and get enough sleep. Doing all these things will help you stay sober and feel better overall.
Also, learn from coaches or wellness experts. They can help you create a plan that you like and is easy to maintain.
5. Have Healthy Fun!
In the past, when I was stressed, all I wanted to do was sit and eat lots of candy in bed. Another thing I often did was complain to anyone who would listen.
But in recovery, we can improve. We can learn to handle stress without resorting to drugs or unhelpful activities. Do you have any healthy hobbies or activities to turn to? Try painting, writing, or playing music to express your feelings in a healthy way.
6. Stick to a Schedule
Just like setting rules, having a schedule is important. As addicts, our minds can get wrapped up in many activities. But rules help avoid that confusion. They prevent us from doing things we might feel bad about later. Here are some ways to do that:
- Set Priorities: Decide on your most important tasks each day and tackle them first. This will feed into your daily plan.
- Daily Plan: Make a daily plan that covers work, exercise, meals, relaxation, and sleep.
- Weekly and Monthly Plan: Make sure your daily plan can be done most days of the week.
Final Thoughts
Maintaining your sobriety while running a business can seem hard at first, but it can be done with good plans and help. With a solid plan and support, you can stay sober more easily. If you need more advice, feel free to reach out to me.
Curious about what it’s like to be sober while running a business? Check out this episode of my podcast for entrepreneurs.
