http://www.recoveryinthepines.com/

Recovery In The Pines, 919 12th Place, Ste 13, Prescott, AZ (2025)

09/23/2025

Isaiah 40:29
He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.

AI
"True inner strength often emerges from confronting and embracing your vulnerabilities and imperfections, not by hiding them. It suggests that identifying and addressing your weaknesses allows for personal growth and a deeper understanding of your true capabilities, leading to a more resilient and powerful self."

The Basics
1. Define the strongest you and "why".

2. Take an inventory of your vulnerabilities.

3. Create the plan to strengthen you.

4. Change requires action. Start small.

The Lesson
Create / review the best, strongest version of you (your top 5 - 10 character assets you wish to master mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually, and socially). Craft powerful "whys" with at least one "why" to the negative that would disgust you if you violate your values. You can accept facing the weak you when it serves a purpose for your "whys".

Stop and embrace your weaknesses. We all have them. There is no shame in it. Be rigorously honest. Simply inventory where you feel you fall short. Don't get stuck in the story or the negative emotions.

From there, you can make a clear plan about how to get into action. Create the plan of purposeful activities (30 - 60 minute events) and micro habits (2 - 5+ minute actions). Start small.

Massive right action is required to grow as the strongest you. Get into a habit of a massive amount of small steps mixed in with a series of one daily activity. The key is consistent effort every day. Layer up the intensity and complexity as you go and grow.

Questions? Need help with this? Reach out to us at: info@recoveryinthepines.com

09/22/2025

Romans 7:19
I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.

AI
"While the process of healing can be challenging and involve periods of emotional turmoil, it is ultimately a more constructive path than remaining in a state of emotional pain or brokenness. Healing involves confronting uncomfortable emotions and past experiences, leading to growth and wholeness, whereas staying hurt means continuing to be weighed down by that pain, leading to a state of stagnation and limitation."

The Basics
1. Get clear about what you're aiming at.

2. Develop deeply personal reasons "why".

3. Get clear about your "mess".

4. Get into action with the smallest steps possible.

5. Seek help.

The Lesson
Create / review the best version of you (your top 5 - 10 character assets you wish to master mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually, and socially).

Craft powerful "whys" with at least one "why" to the negative that would disgust you if you violate your values. Go deep! You can accept resistance when it serves a purpose for your "whys".

Take an inventory of your "mess" you need to clean up:

- unresolved trauma
- past failures
- destructive personality traits
- insecure attachment styles
- toxic relationships
- warped perceptions and beliefs
- unhealthy habits
- narrowing window of tolerance
- and more ...

If you don't face your mess, your life will stay messy.

Commit time daily to complete, at minimum, 1 activity (1+ hour action) and 3 - 5 micro habits (2 - 5 minute micro actions) that move you towards your goals. Starting with small steps reduces the brains resistance to change. Action transforms anxiety into desire to achieve.

Seek help for making changes ... from wise counsel, to encouraging support, professional services, friends and family who hold you accountable, and prayer to your Higher Power. Use them.

Questions? Need help with this? Reach out to us at: info@recoveryinthepines.com

09/21/2025

Romans 5:3-4
Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,

AI
"True maturity and personal growth are a result of enduring hardships, challenges, and 'damage,' rather than simply growing older. While age brings experience, it's the way one confronts, learns from, and overcomes life's difficult moments—like pain, failure, or loss—that leads to deeper wisdom, empathy, and inner strength. Hardships force individuals to adapt, reflect, and discover their own power and resilience."

The Basics
1. Accept that adversity is unavoidable.

2. Maturity is a result of transformation through adversity.

3. Strengthen your ability to handle complex things with maximum efficiency and effectiveness.

4. Be open to receiving professional help.

The Lesson
All paths in life have adversity. This will help you get into acceptance of life and not feel victimized by it.

Create / review the best version of you (your top 5 - 10 character assets you wish to master mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually, and socially). This is who you want to be facing challenges. Maturity awaits as you transform overcoming adversity, not simply by getting older.

Identify ways you can increase your ability to handle maximum complexity with maximum efficiency and effectiveness. Your best way to achieve this is through a daily practice of consistent micro habits (2 - 5+ minute actions) and healthy activities (30 - 60 minute events) that strengthen your best version. As you increase your ability to handle complex issues, you will feel more resilient.

If you're struggling growing through you challenges on your own, you may need help working through issues of trauma, negative bias, attraction to an unhealthy goal, or some other mental, emotional, physical, or spiritual ailments. Seek professional help.

Questions? Need help with this? Reach out to us at: info@recoveryinthepines.com

09/20/2025

Psalm 143:7
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

De Gruyter
"I have found that the origin of soul sickness is a patient's inability to deal with internal or external stress. The internal stress may be borne of emotional, physical, or sexual abuse. The external stress may arise from insufficient coping skills for dealing with the problems and suffering that life brings almost everyone. Rather than transcending the suffering, patients with soul sickness have 'checked out' of life."

The Basics
1. Identify the symptoms of "soul sickness".

2. Know your soul's identity.

3. Your soul suffers in extended solitude. Get connected.

4. Feed yourself "soul food" daily.

The Lesson
There are a couple of key symptoms that are indicators that you may have "soul sickness": dispare, hopelessness, envy, greed, anger, self-pity, and more.

Tune into who you are as your true self, your best self (your top 5 - 10 character assets you wish to master mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually, and socially) and your deepest, personal reasons "why" you are connected to this definition.

Once you know internally how you want to live authentically, you can seek out those who mentor you, motivate you, hold you accountable, and encourage you to become your best version. This could be seeking a relationship with a Higher Power and a fellowship of like-minded and similar soul individuals. Our souls thrive with healthy connections.

Your soul must be fed. Commit time daily to complete, at minimum, one healthy activity (30 - 60 minute event) and 3 - 5 micro habits (2 - 5+ minute actions) that strengthens your soul: prayer, meditation, exercise, sleep, nutrition and hydration, connecting with healthy people and your Higher Power, getting into service of others, learning something new, setting healthy goals, maintaining boundaries, healing your warped thinking and character defects, etc.

Questions? Need help with this? Reach out to us at: info@recoveryinthepines.com

09/19/2025

Ephesians 5:11
Don’t waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are.

AI
"True cost isn't just monetary, but the finite time, energy, and attention—the 'life'—that one sacrifices to acquire an object or pursue an aim. The quote encourages individuals to be mindful of their choices, ensuring they spend their limited life energy on pursuits that hold genuine meaning and value, rather than on things that merely consume it without providing returns."

The Basics
1. Identify your priorities.

2. Have you been waiting to find time ... or ... have you been making it?

3. You don't waste your time. You waste your life.

4. Learn how to invest your time wisely.

The Lesson
Time is ticking by. How are you going to make the most of it? Start by setting priorities for your time. Create / review the best version of you (your top 5 - 10 character assets you wish to master mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually) followed by SMART goals, personally and professionally, and hobbies. These are your top priorities.

Assess your time from the previous week.

How much time did you WASTE on meaningless activities? This includes busyness as a way to distract yourself from accomplishing what your top priorities are.

How much time did you SPEND on practical matters?

How much time did you INVEST into your top priorities ... personal development, closest relationships, and in service of others?

Wasted time is a wasted life. And it can give you false justification for procrastinating on your priorities by thinking you can't "find the time". Start making time for healthy goals and a higher purpose.

Make time daily to complete, at minimum, one healthy activity (30 - 60 minute events) and 3 - 5 micro habits (2 - 5+ minute actions) that move you towards your goals for your best life. Plus, cut away the busyness distractions.

Questions? Need help with this? Reach out to us at: info@recoveryinthepines.com

09/18/2025

Galatians 6:9
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

AI
"Olympic athletes and other masters of their craft often achieve excellence through a series of small, mundane tasks repeated consistently, rather than through extraordinary acts.

Continuous effort also means having the resilience to keep going in the face of setbacks. Many famously successful people failed repeatedly before achieving their goals, demonstrating that persistence through failure is a key ingredient of success."

The Basics
1. Don't leave life up to "luck".

2. Determine what you want to accomplish.

3. Create the plan in small steps.

4. Push the tipping point with massive right action.

The Lesson
Life passes by quickly. The longer you wait for "luck", the less time you will have to achieve your goals, and the more your mind will build up resistance to getting started.

To see the possible paths leading to the life you want, you need to start with crystal clear goals ... who is the best version of you (your top 5 - 10 character assets you wish to master mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually, and socially), what are your SMART goals, healthy hobbies? These goals make up your ideal life.

Be rigorously honest with assessing your opportunities related to your ideal. From there, you can make a clear plan about how to get into action. Create the plan of purposeful activities (30 - 60 minute events) and micro habits (2 - 5+ minute actions). Start small. Be consistent. It's easier to get into action quickly.

Conditions will never be perfect, yet there is always something you can do to make progress ... assess the situation, study on the topic, find a tribe to connect with for inspiration and accountability, and get going. Build momentum. Purposeful action creates the tipping point for "luck" to happen. Be patient. Be persistent. Be consistent.

Questions? Need help with this? Reach out to us at: info@recoveryinthepines.com

09/16/2025

1 Corinthians 3:18
Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.

AI
"This means to avoid lying to yourself by denying reality, overestimating your abilities, or rationalizing harmful behaviors, and instead to be self-aware, seek truth, and align your thoughts with your actions. This often involves self-examination, listening to feedback, being a doer of what you believe, and confronting your fears to foster authenticity and personal growth."

The Basics
1. Assess the + / - of lying to yourself.

2. Healing requires honesty.

3. Seek the truth with curiosity.

4. Get perspective and insight.

The Lesson
Weigh out the perceived benefits of deceiving yourselves ... minimizing pain, avoiding conflicts, dodging responsibility ... and weigh them against the negatives ... harmed relationships, sickness, increased fear, a diminished life. Self-deception creates short-term perceived comfort at the cost of real long-term pain.

Meditate on the fact that healing requires honesty. You can't apply the "best" solution to the "wrong" problem and expect a positive outcome. Don't waste your investment of time and mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, and social energy.

Choosing to seek out the truth with curiosity releases attachment to the story or the outcome. This frees you to get into healthy action for personal transformation.

Find 5 people who know you well and are willing to be rigorously honest with you, and share their insights on the key aspects in question. Measure what they say against your findings to see how they match or conflict. If 5 people have one perspective and yours is different, you may still be lying to yourself. Seek professional help for guidance.

Questions? Need help with this? Reach out to us at: info@recoveryinthepine.com

09/15/2025

Micah 6:8
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

AI
"Life alignment means living in harmony with your true self, where your actions, choices, and resources are consistently in line with your deeply held values, purpose, and intentions. It involves clarity about who you are and what you want, and then aligning your mind, body, and spirit to reflect that vision, leading to feelings of fulfillment, ease, and deep satisfaction."

The Basics
1. Define your primary values.

2. Assess your recent actions.

3. Realize how you're wired.

4. Determine how you need to stay aligned.

The Lesson
Create / review the best version of you (your top 5 - 10 character aspects mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually, and socially you wish to master). These are the values you're to live by in all of your experiences in life.

Inventory your daily actions as compared to your best version for the last week, as an example. Did you live out the values of your best version in all situations and in all interactions with others, or did you stray from the path? When you violate your best version, you're out of alignment.

P + B = E = A
Our (P)erceptions + (B)eliefs result in (E)motions and often trigger (A)ction. This is a closed loop system. As you act, it alters your perceptions, beliefs, and emotions. (** formula credit Jeanne Sanner).

It's healthy to take an inventory of your thoughts, emotions, and actions, and notice where you can make adjustments to live your best life. Don't wait for life to align itself for you. Are you pausing and choosing actions based on your best version, or are you losing yourself to emotions and desires? What adjustments do you need to make to live in alignment, staying true to your best self no matter what life throws at you?

Questions? Need help with this? Reach out to us at: info@recoveryinthepine.com

09/14/2025

Galatians 6:9
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

AI
"Being adaptable is the ability to embrace and adjust to new situations, challenges, and demands to ensure progress and success. It involves a proactive mindset to anticipate change, flexibility in one's approach, continuous learning, and openness to new perspectives and experiences."

The Basics
1. Know what you're aiming at and why.

2. Put together the plan of small steps.

3. Success requires action.

4. Pause to assess.

5. Don't quit.

The Lesson
Start by aiming at a goal. Create / review the best version of you (your top 5 - 10 character assets you wish to master mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually, and socially), followed by SMART goals, personally and professionally, with healthy hobbies.

Craft powerful "whys" with at least one "why" to the negative that would disgust you if you were to quit and accept defeat. Go deep!

Next, create the plan of healthy activities (30 - 60 minute events) and micro habits (2 - 5+ minute actions). Start small. It's easier to discipline yourself to put them into action. You can increase the frequency and complexity as you go.

Massive right action is required to achieve your goals. Get into a habit of a massive amount of small steps consistently.

Pause and reflect at regular intervals. Identify ways you can learn to increase the frequency, duration, complexity, efficiency, and effectiveness of your action. If you make a mistake on small steps, it's easier to adapt and continue to make forward progress instead of accepting defeat. Keep getting after it diligently, daily.

Realize, some things take longer than originally expected or have more complexity. When you experience this, remember your "whys", get back into action quickly, and seek outside support if necessary. You're only defeated when you believe you are.

Questions? Need help with this? Reach out to us at: info@recoveryinthepines.com

09/13/2025

Proverbs 29:25
The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.

AI
"To prevent the fear of future possibilities from hindering you, you must acknowledge that fear is a normal part of leaving your comfort zone and that most feared outcomes never materialize. Instead of letting it control you, lean into the discomfort by taking action towards your fears."

The Basics
1. All paths in life have "fear".

2. Know what you're aiming at.

3. Your "whys" need to be more potent than your fears.

4. Break difficulties down to simple steps.

The Lesson
Your fears will lie to you as a way to keep you safe. Avoiding fear doesn't keep you safe. It keeps you stuck. Avoiding fears is avoiding life, creating greater fear. It's a trap. Turn and face your fears. The more you do, you will experience more fully what life has to offer.

Create / review the best version of you (your top 5 - 10 character assets you wish to master mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually, and socially), followed by SMART goals, personally and professionallly. Assess the joys you will experience achieving these goals against the fear and consequences of avoiding them.

If you dont have deeply personal and powerful "whys" for going after your ideals, your mind, emotions, and feelings in your body will come up with a multitude of "whys" to avoid fear and seek safety and comfort. Whichever "whys" are more powerful will win, and you will act accordingly.

Break down your fear into simple, actionable steps.

Small steps = small failures minimizing difficulties

Small steps = small victories get you into healthy action quickly

If you turn and face what you fear, it expands your "window of tolerance". The wider your window, the greater capability and capacity you have for managing and experiencing life. It will open up all kinds of possibilities for you. Stop avoiding. Start living.

Questions? Need help with this? Reach out to us at: info@recoveryinthepines.com

09/10/2025

Matthew 6:33
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

AI
"True happiness and fulfillment are not found in material possessions, social status, or external validation, but rather in cultivating inner virtues and developing a strong character. It emphasizes the importance of focusing on what you can control – your thoughts, actions, and attitudes – rather than external circumstances that are often beyond your control."

The Basics
1. Avoid the Hedonic treadmill.

2. Focus on the internal over the external.

3. Know what you're aiming at and why.

4. Get into action investing in character.

The Lesson
Be cautious of collecting things in pursuit of worldly status as a way to create happiness for yourself. While you may get a temporary dose of dopamine, the feeling is fleeting. Careful becoming slave to image and trying to compete on appearance. This will have you alter your character to be whatever you believe will bring you approval and acceptance.

Focus instead on your personal development. If you have great character, that will resonate with other people as integrity. You can't do enough work on your image to cover up poor character. Your character will always reveal itself.

Create / review the best version of you (your top 5 - 10 character assets you wish to master mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually, and socially). Create deeply personal "whys" for becoming this best you.

Invest time daily to work on your best version. Make sure you put a consistent effort into activities (30 - 60 minute events) and micro habits (2 - 5+ minute actions) that strengthen your best version in doses. Target completing at least 1 activity and 3 - 5 micro habits daily. The more activities and micro habits you practice, the more your best version will shine, and you will increase your capacity and capability to handle blessings.

Questions? Need help with this? Reach out to us at: info@recoveryinthepines.com

09/09/2025

James 1:2-4
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Medium.com
"Because the times will always come when we will feel slapped upside the head by life and the choice will be ours.

To react and remain in anger and disbelief and say 'why me'?

Or to brush ourselves off, stand back up, look our fears and pain squarely in the eyes and say, 'Why not me?'"

The Basics
1. Do you have a healthy definition of happiness?

2. Accept that adversity is unavoidable.

3. Happiness is a result of transformation through adversity.

4. Strengthen your ability to handle complex things with maximum efficiency and effectiveness.

The Lesson
Take an honest assessment of your definition of "happiness". Is it driven by prestige, fame, and the accumulation of material things? Is it based upon your ability to handle highly complex issues and the positive value you bring into your relationships?

All paths in life have adversity. This will help you get into acceptance of life and not feel victimized by it.

Start by creating / reviewing the best version of you (your top 5 - 10 character assets you wish to master mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually, and socially). This is your highest self. Happiness awaits as you overcoming adversity to become this version.

Identify ways you can increase your ability to handle maximum complexity with maximum efficiency and effectiveness. Your best way to achieve this is through a daily practice of consistent micro habits (2 - 5+ minute actions) and healthy activities (30 - 60 minute events) that strengthen your best version. As you increase your ability to handle complex issues, you will feel stronger in life, increasing how much happiness you will experience.

Questions? Need help with this? Reach out to us at: info@recoveryinthepines.com

Recovery In The Pines

09/23/2025

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