I’ll admit that sometimes it’s fun to romanticize the past. This doesn’t mean we want to relive those moments, though. Appreciating the good times isn’t the same as fueling our past with a desire to do it again.

Once we create a solid foundation of sobriety, we want no part of our previous life. If the life we’re living now is more fulfilling than the time spent in addiction, then we can look and observe our past without emotional connection. If our sobriety isn’t stable, romanticizing previous experiences could be the snowball that starts the avalanche back to destructive behaviors.

Now, when I think of the past, I feel sorry for how I used to act, and that’s because my sobriety is strong today, and I do not wish to live in my addiction again. At the same time, I look back and laugh at all the drunken episodes where I acted like a fool. I cherish all the tipsy laughs with friends and strangers (many strangers, lol). I feel this way because I’ve created a better life today than the one I had then.

It’s also essential to be honest about what our past has done to our lives and relationships. It’s easy to remember the good stuff, but the truth is that your past actions dismantled your life and brought you to a place where you realized the only way to find sanity was to stop doing the things that provided those few good memories.

Stay sober, and your best memories are ahead of you.

* For Sober coaching with Justin, click here.

** For Justin's 90 Days of Sobriety course, click here.

*** To buy Daily Sober, click here.