Dallas Bragg explains why recovery stalls around 90 days: the early novelty and dopamine hits fade, leaving nothing to climb toward. Fear of relapse isn't enough to keep going. You need a vivid picture of who you want to become.
Here's why some of you are plateauing at 90 days and not getting past it. All right, so this mountain represents recovery, right? If you're here at the bottom of the mountain and you're just starting out, you have a goal here— 90 days, the elusive 90 days. Maybe you've been there before, maybe you haven't, but that's your incentive. I want to get to 90 days. And in early recovery, everything is a dopamine hit. Everything's new. New meetings, new friends, new relationships, new jobs, feeling good, sleeping. Your brain starts to heal. Like, everything is so fresh and exciting, and you— and that gives you the drive to climb up that part of the mountain. When you get to 90 days, oftentimes you're like, what's next? I haven't thought past this. What do I do? A lot of times guys will go back down the mountain because that's what's comfortable. And it's up here. The terrain is new, it's uncertain, and it's scary. But what can give you the drive to get up the next part of the mountain? What can incentivize you is a clear enough vision. You must have a vision of who you are becoming. You must have a vision of how you're going to show up. What does my life look like? And if I can viscerally and emotionally tie into the vision of who I'm becoming. That gives me the drive. That gives me the incentive. Not things like I'm going to lose my job, or my partner wants me to stop, or meth is just bad for me, or etc., etc., etc. Those purposes and reasons won't give you the drive, oftentimes sustainable drive, to get you up here. It's the vision. The vision is the key. Why are you doing this? Who are you becoming?
