Happiness, Addiction, and the Power of Having Something to Look Forward To
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Years ago, a family friend told me, “Happiness is having something to look forward to.”
I didn’t really agree, but it’s an interesting concept, and one I only recently started to understand, especially in the context of quitting kratom and recovery. This family friend, who is like a father to me, struggled with alcoholism for decades. I only learned about this in my twenties. He quit drinking before I was born, and as I grew up, I knew him as an increasingly well-respected lawyer and generally awesome guy. He worked hard. He ate through legal cases and became the go-to guy in his firm for trial law. When I learned about his issues with alcohol, a puzzle piece snapped into place in his life’s story.
Firstly, he proved what is well known about addicts: oftentimes, they can be among the brightest and best in any room when operating free from drugs. Secondly, the energy he must’ve spent on drinking (and recovering) is the same energy he poured into his work and is directly responsible for his rapid rise in legal skill and reputation. Thirdly, his statement about having something to look forward to made perfect sense. When drinking stopped being the only thing he looked forward to, his professional life became the thing he looked forward to.
What Happens to Your Energy When You Quit a Drug
I 100% maintain that any addict is capable of ineffable accomplishment. Supporting a drug habit comes at a staggering mental and physical cost. The sheer amount of energy it takes to continuously live under the influence, whether that’s alcohol, opioids, or kratom addiction, is difficult to quantify. Lancing that habit from an addict’s life releases all that energy to be spent elsewhere. My family friend put that energy into his legal career. Personally, when I quit tramadol, I put all my energy into creating an energy storage project I built in Nairobi. When I quit alcohol, I put all my energy into my chemical engineering degree. When I quit kratom, I put all my energy into Quit Kit, which ultimately grew out of my own experience quitting kratom naturally.
You need to do the same thing when you quit your drug. Without having something to devote your newfound energy towards, it will stand by, listlessly waiting to be put to use. Without an outlet, that energy, especially during kratom withdrawal or 7OH withdrawal, can be the very thing that drives you to relapse. Avoiding this pitfall is, in the end, all about giving yourself something to look forward to.
That’s what this post is all about. Finding a new outlet for that energy, an outlet that lives far, far away from substance use. An outlet that actually gives you a result you’ll be proud of during kratom recovery. The good news is, you don’t need some grand scheme like becoming a partner at a legal firm or starting a business. You just need something that captivates your interest. Something you care about, something that will yield tangible results, and something you can point to and say with pride, “Hey! I did that.” You need a project.
The Project I Took On When I Quit Kratom Naturally
When I quit kratom, before starting Quit Kit as a form of natural kratom support, I undertook a project that I had no real business doing. Not safely, anyways. But let’s just forget about that for now. I had just moved to North Carolina and my condo was dark, even with all the lights on. I mean, it was oppressively dark in this place. Full on, sunny day outside, absolute bear cave inside. It was dreary and depressing and drove me crazy. I didn’t have the money for an electrician, so I decided I was going to install new lighting on my own.
Had I ever installed home lighting before? No. The closest I got was putting up an IKEA lamp. But I figured, you know what, I’m a chemical engineer. I learned about circuits in school. I built an energy storage project in Nairobi. I could do it myself. Like, what’s the worst that happens? I electrocute myself? Eh. Better than living in a bear cave.
The same week I quit kratom, right in the middle of kratom withdrawal, I watched a half dozen YouTube videos about DIY overhead light installation, then went to Lowe’s and bought a few hundred dollars’ worth of supplies. My girlfriend watched me cut into the ceiling of our living room. She heard me swear repeatedly as I tried and failed and failed again to fish-tape wiring through the space between our ceiling and the floor of our neighbor upstairs.
My cat watched me mark studs on the wall and reach my hand into the void space above the light switches and drywall, desperately searching for the 14/2 wiring I had spent 6 hours winding above the ceiling and now needed to actually connect to a junction box. I constantly went back to YouTube to make sure I was doing things correctly. I spliced wires, bought dimmer switches, removed old light fixtures, patched holes in the walls and ceiling, went back and forth to the breaker box a few dozen times, covered myself in paint, and finally, after nearly a week, had successfully installed puck lights into the living room and second bedroom. I could literally now flick a switch and declare, “Let there be light!”
The photo of me included in this post is a capture of a moment when I felt incredible pride in myself. I did it. I installed home lighting. Holy moly, I was awesome.
The project was frustrating, but it was fascinating. It was something my girlfriend and cat thought I shouldn’t be doing. But I looked forward to working on it every day. And I freaking did it. The condo became a livable space. And nothing caught fire. I didn’t even electrocute myself. Most importantly, the whole time I was doing it, I wasn’t thinking about kratom or 7OH at all.
How to Choose Your Own Project When Quitting Kratom or 7OH
Here’s what I want you to do. Think of a project that:
- Is in your life or surroundings that needs attention
- Builds a level of curiosity within you
- Is at least marginally within your skillset to accomplish
- Holds some degree of challenge
- When it’s completed, is something you can point to and say, “Hey, I did that!”,
This is all particularly important if you’re trying to quit kratom naturally or navigate 7OH recovery. DIY is a good place to start, but it could also be spending dedicated time with people you love or finishing something you started a long time ago and left incomplete. As long as it follows the criteria I laid out, you’ve picked a suitable personal project. It may frustrate you at times, but will never be out of reach. And because you’re curious about it, pursuing it will create a new sense of fascination and intrigue in your life, one that is wholly and principally devoid of drugs and supportive of long-term kratom recovery.
When you finish it, and you feel the joy of having done something fascinating and challenging on purpose, you will look at it and feel an intense amount of self-respect and joy. And that’s the good stuff, man.
Don’t wait to do this. Do it now. Now. Take three minutes to brainstorm, take one minute to jot your ideas on a piece of paper, and then take action to start the project on the idea that most interests you, especially if you’re in the early stages of quitting kratom or 7OH naturally. Start the project. Seriously. Start.
The sooner you do, the sooner you have something to look forward to that has absolutely nothing to do with a drug, and everything to do with building a life after kratom with the support of Quit Kit.
Much love,
Matt von Boecklin
Founder / Quit Kit