Declare

To Declare is to make an outward statement of your internal commitment to stay sober. There are a few ways you can declare your commitment.

1. Tell a trusted individual. It may be a close friend or supportive family member. For those of you who are in a Twelve-Step Program, this could be your sponsor. Declaring does not have to be an overwhelming burden on either of you. It may be a simple text or email each day in which you state, “I am committing to my financial sobriety plan today.”
2. Utilize a social network. You might make a daily post on a personal social media account. I would love to eventually have a place online for a FITE addiction community, such as Reddit, where daily Declare threads can be made. Feel free to chime in on the comment section below if you have any interest in this.
3. Call on your higher power. If you have religious or spiritual beliefs, you might prefer to incorporate your declaration into your daily prayer or create a small ritual around committing to your sobriety. 
4. Trust in yourself. Perhaps you are one of those individuals who has a really strong internal drive and can make a commitment to yourself to uphold your sobriety. In this case, pause each time you Document in your daily journal, taking a mindful moment to commit to your plan.

In the Bright Lines Eating program, Dr. Susan Peirce Thompson recommends picking one form of commitment and sticking to it. I will add that the form of declaration that is most effective for you is likely going to depend on your unique personality traits. While it has been common advice that telling another person will increase your chances of following through on a goal, one study has shown that this is only the case if you care what others think of you. You might want to check out Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies Quiz to gain a deeper insight into your traits which can inform the strategy you take to commit and declare. 

No matter how you choose to Declare, there is a checkbox at the bottom right hand side of the FITE addiction Daily Journal to check off when you have made your commitment. There is just something so satisfying and affirming about being able to check off a box!