16 Comments
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Gill Deacon's avatar

green light! of all your wonderful posts, i think this is my favourite. (that is not a score! just sincere appreciation)

in her book A Truce That Is Not Peace, miriam toews says that answers are for douchebags. living in the questions is the way to go.

bravo my wise and courageous friend for finding your own meaningful (and helpful!) way to express that. thank you. #steveisnotadouchebag

Steve Pratt's avatar

I LOVE A Truce That Is Not Peace and have you to thank for it! (Your podcast interview with Miriam is fantastic, BTW...) And thank you for the hashtag I never knew I needed to see! 😜

Anna Rishin's avatar

Must be something in the air. :) I too stopped tracking everything for the month of January, and am unlikely to restart. Just 🟢🟡🔴 for a few essentials...

Steve Pratt's avatar

I love hearing this, Anna—not just that you stopped, but also that you're unlikely to restart. Woohoo! Did you find the same thing, that not only did it not matter, but that it was an actual relief to not be tracked or measured or compared? 🎉

Anna Rishin's avatar

Yes, it was a huge relief. And in the case of sleep, it actually got better once I stopped tracking it so obsessively. :)

Steve Pratt's avatar

Me, too! How funny and awesome is that, huh? :-)

Jordan Kawchuk's avatar

This is fantastic - personal and really motivating. I especially liked the line "Experts give you answers. Coaches help you find your own."

I too suffer from "not enough" panic with the added anxiety of "making up for lost time" having missed a lot of good years due to addition and recovery. This post put me at ease, and I am FOR SURE going to use your Midlife version of the Traffic Light Dashboard, using your same questions, with a couple of my own (I want to avoid complicating things, thus missing the whole point).

Advice on how often to check my dashboard — daily, weekly, randomly?"

Great stuff!

Steve Pratt's avatar

That is awesome that you like the Traffic Lights! We used to check in on them every two months or so, but if something changed or required attention, we would revisit it whenever it made sense. I haven't decided how often I'm going to check my new dashboard, but I don't think it will be SUPER frequently. What do you think feels like the right frequency?

Jordan Kawchuk's avatar

I'm going to try weekly, I think!

I added "Am I Sober" to mean a whole variety of things (not just abstinence), "Am I Honest with myself and others," and "Am I Connecting with others and surrounding myself with good people" (as in not isolating).

Steve Pratt's avatar

I love this so much, Jordan! Woohoo! 🎉

Peter Reek's avatar

Fewer numbers. Better questions. A life that breathes again

Bree Groff's avatar

The traffic light dashboard is so good!!

Steve Pratt's avatar

I'm glad you like it, Bree! When Rob Leadley first showed it to me at Pacific Content, I thought it was just brilliant—keep it simple and don't panic or overanalyze unless necessary :-)