You made it to day 7 of #SoberOctober! Pat yourself on the back, that’s a big fucking deal and a huge accomplishment. One week of consistently doing anything is challenging—so don’t minimize what a milestone this is. It’s a cause for celebration and taking a moment to reflect on what has been working for you—and take a look at some of the things standing in your way.

One of the biggest defects of character I encountered in early sobriety was self-pity. I felt like the biggest loser and every single day was a pity party—table for one. It’s an easy, comfortable place to retreat to and since I got sober and had absolutely no coping tools--I didn’t handle it well. It was me against the world.

One of the most effective antidotes to self-pity has been gratitude. A lot of lip service has been paid to gratitude in our new age self-help addicted society. Everyone from Oprah to Deepak to Tony Robbins has preached the good word of getting grateful. But it's not bullshit. When the going gets tough, I get thankful. I'd rather train my brain to look at the bright side, than focus on the negative. Cultivating a psychology of resilience is important to me. Being thankful for everything I have in the moment is a huge piece of that puzzle.

Today’s challenge is to do a gratitude mind map. Gratitude lists are great, but I started picking one thing—just one simple thing—and thinking of all the other things connected to that one thing that I l also have to be grateful for in just being thankful for that one thing. It’s really changing my relationship to everything. Don’t overthink it, just set a timer for 3-5 minutes and go.

I've attached today's just to give you an idea.