Goal Setting in Recovery: 5 Tips to Help You Stick to Your Goals

Addiction recovery is more than just breaking free from substance use. It’s about building a healthier future, one step at a time. Goal setting is a powerful tool in this journey, helping you stay focused and motivated as you navigate the recovery process. 

Setting realistic goals can help transform what might feel overwhelming into manageable steps, making progress more visible and achievable. Whether you’re just starting or have been on this path for a while, effective goal setting in addiction recovery can help you create a clear plan for your future. 

A few simple tips can help you stay on track to achieving your goals – building a better, healthier life in recovery. If your goals feel overwhelming or intimidating at times, remember that breaking them down into smaller, manageable steps can make the journey more approachable and help you stay motivated.

1. Make SMART Goals

When setting recovery goals, there’s a specific template you can use to maximize your chances of success. This template is known as SMART goals, and it has been used in medicine, behavioral health, physical fitness, education, and much more. The SMART method is based on smart criteria for effective goal setting, helping you create structured and meaningful objectives.

The SMART method has decades of research supporting its effectiveness and can also help you with your goal-setting strategy.

What are SMART goals? The acronym stands for:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Time-bound

By applying these five principles to your recovery goals, you can increase your chances of success. Set goals using the SMART method to create realistic, time-bound steps that support your progress in recovery. Let’s look a little closer at how each facet of a SMART goal can impact your goals in recovery.

Specific

The first step is to make each goal as specific as possible. By narrowing your goal to a single target rather than a broad generalization, you make it easier to see the outcome and how to work toward it.

Making your goal specific also helps in making sure that it will be impactful. A specific goal means a tangible result.

Measurable

Next, you should make your goal measurable. You need to track your progress or determine if your goal has been reached. This could include specific milestones, tracking your mood or symptoms, or having a well-defined endpoint.

Having specific measurements keeps you engaged with your recovery goals throughout the process. You can see if you are improving, backtracking, or need additional support, and you can build upon your successes as you go along.

Achievable

Too often, people set lofty or unattainable goals for themselves. Focus instead on things you know you can accomplish if you put in the work. Breaking larger objectives into achievable milestones makes progress more manageable and helps maintain motivation. This often includes several factors, such as:

• How much time do you have available to work on your goals
• What is your current skill level for your goal
• What resources do you have available

For example, it might be unreasonable to set a goal of running a marathon next month if you have no experience running. But setting a goal of running a shorter distance is possible with effort. Reaching these milestones can help build confidence and reinforce your commitment to recovery.

Relevant

Your recovery goals should be focused on just that – recovery. Setting meaningful goals relevant to your needs is critical, as time spent on irrelevant goals won’t provide much help in the larger picture.

This doesn’t mean everything needs to be focused exclusively on symptoms, though. So long as your goals focus on building a healthy and sustainable life that supports your recovery, you’re on the right track.

Time-Based

Having a time limit on your goals can motivate you to work toward them. Try to keep your time limits relatively short – as in weeks or months rather than years.

In addition to setting time-based goals, it’s important to create actionable plans with clear deadlines. These plans should outline specific steps and time frames to help guide your recovery efforts and support meaningful progress.

Setting goals to be accomplished in the far future, or without a time limit at all, can quickly lead to procrastination on starting your efforts – ultimately holding you back from achieving them.

A common example to illustrate this point is New Year’s resolutions. For many people, a year-long goal is too distant – it’s hard to maintain the motivation across twelve whole months. Many people will start working on their goals in January, but give up before February is over.

Example of SMART Recovery Goals

Put the SMART method into action to achieve a common goal for those in recovery:  finding more social support. This is a fantastic goal for anyone in recovery, but in its current state, it is vague, unmeasurable, and has no time limit.

By applying the principles of SMART, you can make the goal much more actionable. It may look something like this:

• Specific:My goal is to build a support network to support my recovery by attending recovery-related activities twice a week
• Measurable:I’ll track each time I attend a support group, therapy session, or 12-step meeting in a journal
• Achievable:I have enough time for these activities on Tuesday, Thursday, and the weekend
• Relevant:Building a support network helps me stay sober, and it’s important to set meaningful goals that keep me motivated.
• Time-bound:My goal is to have a stronger support network in one month

Compared to the broad goal of “finding more social support,” the SMART goal provides a clear action plan, measurable progress, times when you can work toward your goal, and an endpoint to check if you’ve met your goal or made progress toward it. Writing makes your goals more tangible, reinforces your commitment, and helps you track progress throughout your recovery journey.

Understanding Mental Health in Recovery

Mental health is a cornerstone of the recovery process. According to SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration), addressing mental health needs is essential for anyone working toward recovery from addiction(SAMHSA, 2025). 

Untreated mental health challenges can make it harder to stay on track, while prioritizing your mental well-being can help you cope with stress, triggers, and setbacks. Support groups play a vital role in this process. Attending even one support group meeting per week can provide a sense of connection, understanding, and encouragement.

These groups offer a safe space to share experiences and learn from others on similar journeys. To prioritize your mental health, consider integrating regular check-ins with a mental health professional, practicing self-care routines, and making time for activities that support your well-being. Remember, recovery is not just about overcoming addiction. It’s about building a balanced, healthy life with the support you need to thrive.

2. Work on Building Healthy Coping Mechanisms

No matter what your recovery goals may be, there are bound to be challenges along the way. Learning to cope with difficult times and get through them while maintaining your recovery is critical to your success. 

People often don’t have these healthy coping mechanisms when they start the recovery process. Focusing on building and practicing healthy coping mechanisms can significantly improve your ability to manage setbacks and maintain progress.

Psychologists have described the various types of coping mechanisms and placed them into three distinct tiers:

1. Adaptive cognitive coping
2. Problem-focused coping
3. Emotional-focused coping

For many people with substance use or mental health disorders, emotion-focused coping is the norm. It focuses on alleviating the emotion itself, which often provides the least benefit for your recovery goals.

For example, a person who feels sad and uses emotion-focused coping mechanisms may try to distract themselves from the sadness with video games, use drugs or alcohol to suppress the sadness, or lower their expectations for the future.

Problem-focused coping is often a step up in coping mechanisms, but it’s not without its own faults. Problem-focused coping aims to fix challenges by changing the environment. This style of coping can often lead to great success but comes at the cost of effort.

For example, if you fail to get a promotion at work, a problem-focused coping style would be to increase your productivity and perform better at the workplace. This might earn you a promotion in the future, but it can also contribute to your overall stress level in daily life.

Adaptive cognitive coping mechanisms are by far the healthiest. This style of coping is what is often taught by therapists or psychologists and includes strategies such as:

• Cognitive reframing
• Meditation or mindfulness strategies
• Putting problems into perspective
• Acceptance

It’s essential to recognize that fluctuating motivation is common during recovery, and it can affect how consistently you use these coping strategies.

While adaptive cognitive strategies are often the most helpful, they are the hardest to develop. But learning your coping strategies, what works in which situations, and how you can improve can all help you work toward your recovery goals. If you ever feel stuck in your recovery journey, reaching out for support and encouragement can help you move forward.

3. Keep a Daily Routine

Variety may be the spice of life, but a daily routine can be critical to maintaining your mental health, particularly if you deal with challenges such as anxiety or a substance use disorder. A healthy daily routine can go a long way toward alleviating your symptoms and keeping your challenges at bay. As part of establishing a routine, consider setting a short-term goal to help create structure and provide a sense of accomplishment.

Sticking to an established routine can help remove many of the stressful aspects of the day. When you know where you need to be, what you need to do next, and who’s relying on you for what, it’s easier to manage a busy workday and still have time for your recovery goals.

Even better, try incorporating some new healthy strategies into your routine. For example, some of the best things you can do for your overall mental health include:

• Getting 7-9 hours of sleep each night
• Regular exercise
• Eating a nutritious diet
• Spending time with friends and family
• Exploring a new hobby

If you’re not already doing these things, slowly incorporating them into your routine can have a profound effect on your energy levels, stress, and overall recovery.

Achieving short-term goals, such as adding a new hobby or improving your sleep, can help build confidence in your ability to make positive changes and support your ongoing recovery.

With more energy and less stress, you’ll feel more capable of taking the next steps toward your recovery goals.

Building a Support Network

A strong support network is one of the most effective ways to achieve lasting recovery. Surrounding yourself with supportive family members, friends, and peers in support groups can make a significant difference in your motivation and ability to stay focused on your goals. Sharing your progress and setbacks with your support network helps you stay accountable and reminds you that you’re not alone on this journey. Support groups, whether in-person or online, offer encouragement and practical advice from people who understand what you’re going through. To build a robust support network, reach out to trusted loved ones, join local or virtual support groups, and consider connecting with others in your treatment program. Remember, recovery is a collaborative process – leaning on your support network can help you stay motivated, focused, and resilient, even when challenges arise.

4. Be Patient

Recovery from any mental health challenge is a process. It takes time, effort, dedication, and a lot of patience before you start to see the rewards of your efforts. It’s important to set realistic goals along the way to avoid frustration and stay motivated throughout your journey.

While there are several definitions of recovery, the National Alliance on Mental Illness describes it as a process of change in which people improve their health and wellness, reach their full potential, and live a self-directed life. For those recovering from substance abuse, these are ambitious long-term goals for anyone, and it’s important to recognize that it doesn’t happen all at once.

If you haven’t met your recovery goals quite yet, it doesn’t mean it’s time to give up. The rewards of recovery could be waiting for you just around the corner – you just need to be patient and continue working toward your goals until you see them come to fruition. Over time, recovery can lead to meaningful, positive changes in people’s lives.

Long-Term Goals and Planning

Setting long-term goals is essential for creating a stable foundation in your recovery journey. Achievable goals give you a sense of direction and purpose, helping you look beyond the immediate challenges and focus on building a fulfilling life in recovery. Long-term goals might include maintaining sobriety for a year, rebuilding relationships, pursuing education or career opportunities, or developing new hobbies that support your well-being. To make these goals more attainable, break them down into smaller, measurable milestones and celebrate your progress along the way. Planning for the future not only keeps you motivated but also helps you stay prepared for potential obstacles. Remember, recovery is a lifelong journey –setting clear, achievable long-term goals can help you stay on the right path and continue making progress toward a healthier, more meaningful life.

5. Get Professional Help

If you feel like you haven’t received the rewards of recovery despite your best efforts, it might be time to seek professional help. A professional can help you set goals for your recovery, ensuring they are realistic and achievable, and guide you step by step through the process.

Whether you’re seeking treatment for the first time or have been in recovery for years, working with a therapist or mental health professional can provide actionable guidance and support to help you achieve your recovery goals.

Talk therapy is the most common form of professional help. Working with an individual therapist can help people achieve any number of goals in recovery, including:

• Overcoming depression or anxiety
• Resisting substance use cravings
• Helping to repair damaged relationships
• Learning communication skills
• Training in healthy coping mechanisms

Many of the same benefits can be found in group therapy, with the added benefit of social support from peers with similar experiences.

There are countless other treatment styles you can engage in, depending on your goals. Cutting-edge technologies and treatment methods help people make progress in recovery and include methods such as:

• Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation
• Stellate ganglion blocks
• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy
• 9x Fitness training

By taking advantage of a wide range of traditional and innovative services, you will have every tool at your disposal to achieve your recovery goals.

Loved Ones and Recovery

Loved ones play a vital role in the recovery process, offering emotional support, encouragement, and accountability. Involving family members and close friends in your goal setting can strengthen your support network and increase your chances of success. When you share your recovery goals with loved ones, you invite them to be part of your journey, creating opportunities for open communication and mutual understanding. This collaborative process can help you stay motivated and focused, especially during challenging times. Encourage your loved ones to attend support group meetings with you, participate in family therapy, or simply check in regularly about your progress. By working together, you can build a stronger foundation for recovery and celebrate each milestone as a team. Remember, recovery is not something you have to do alone – leaning on your loved ones can make all the difference in achieving lasting success.

Call APN Today

The services at APN can be just what you need to kickstart your recovery goals. With our programs and services, Top 5% of treatment outcomes nationally (ACORN Collaboration) and offer holistic care to fit a wide variety of needs and preferences.

Contact our team today by calling 855.510.4585 or filling out our confidential online contact form for more information. The path to recovery isn’t always easy, but with the help of APN, your recovery goals are within reach. Reach out to APN with confidence in your ability to achieve lasting recovery and build a brighter future.

References

• Ogbeiwi O (2017) Why written objectives need to be really SMART. British Journal of Healthcare Management. 23 (7): 324–336.
• Schoenmakers, Eric C et al. “Problem-focused and emotion-focused coping options and loneliness: how are they related?.” European journal of ageing vol. 12,2 153-161. 11 Feb. 2015, doi:10.1007/s10433-015-0336-1