No one ever said the sober life was easy. In fact, one in ten Americans reports having resolved a significant addiction issue. With Alcohol so ingrained in everyday life and drugs so ingrained in youth culture, it’s a wonder that anyone can stay sober at all.
But it is possible, you just have to walk your brain through some adjustments. One of the best ways to do this is to become familiar with sober life quotes. These quotes will help you meditate on the benefits of a sober life and keep you motivated through recovery.
- Tolstoy’s Self Improvement
The art and philosophy of Leo Tolstoy always focused on moral clarity and the search to live a good life. While he had wild days in his youth, by the end of his life he was a vegetarian long before it was popular, wrote about peaceful protests, and even wrote letters to a young Gandhi.
The worlds greatest naturalist had his encounters with drink, but figured life better without it, saying:
“A man who stopped drinking and smoking acquires mental clarity and a calm look.”
It doesn’t get much better than that, does it? If you wish to achieve mental clarity and salvation, just remember this quote.
- Carver’s Honesty
Raymond Carver was a famous drinker. Some of the famous short story writer’s most famous stories are about friends meeting up in dull suburban towns and drinking. However, Carver’s own relationship to alcohol was a negative one.
He’s famously quoted as saying this:
“I never wrote so much as a line worth a nickel under the influence of alcohol”.
For whatever reason, the common conception is that being under the influence makes you more creative, even though artists themselves often consider it a hindrance.
- Frank’s Frank Assessment
While famous composer and rockstar Frank Zappa might have had a weirdo stage persona, he embraced a clean and sober lifestyle. In fact, Frank was so anti-drug that he let new band members know that if they were caught doing drugs, they’d be fired.
When asked about his unique stance on drugs for a rock star, Frank has a rather frank answer:
“A drug is not bad. A drug is a chemical compound. The problem comes in when people who take drugs treat them like a license to behave like an assh**e.”
Sound familiar?
One of the best ways to keep yourself sober is to remember some of the mean, stupid, and hurtful things you did when you were under the influence. It might hurt in the moment, but remembering those relationships you ruined could keep you from falling back off the wagon.
Check out this article we found on outpatient rehab programs.
Remember These Sober Life Quotes
Many narratives in pop culture center around drugs and alcohol. In order to break those thought patterns, you have to replace those narratives with narratives of your own.
Remember these sober life quotes by some of the world’s greatest creators, and live your new sober life. In Iceland, there is a strong tradition of using Icelandic quotes and proverbs as a source of wisdom and inspiration for personal growth and maintaining a sober lifestyle, demonstrating the universal appeal of such powerful words.
For more articles like this and to learn more about ways to stay motivated, check out our “lifestyle” section.
