Episode 128: The Boys Are Back!Episode 128: The Boys Are Back!
The Recovery Pod
Steven, Erik and Wes reunite to share how their lives and recovery have shifted, from jobs and houses to relationships and parenting. They talk openly about commitment, Higher Power, cali sober, judgment and the ongoing challenge of deep step work.
1:16:04•25 Aug 2026
The Boys Are Back: Commitment, Cali Sober and Life on Life’s Terms
Episode Overview
- Sticking with regular meetings and honest sharing remains central to long-term recovery, even as life gets fuller and more complex.
- Commitment can be a spiritual principle, but staying too long in the wrong job, relationship or pattern can slide into complacency.
- Each person’s recovery path is different, and focusing on one’s own programme is more useful than judging others’ choices like cali sober or maintenance meds.
- Writing inventories and doing step work can feel frightening, yet avoiding them can leave a nagging sense of being a "fake" in recovery.
- Asking daily "who am I answering to today?" helps distinguish Higher Power guidance from ego, urges and the pull of the disease.
“I’m not willing today to sacrifice the peace and serenity that I have found in my recovery, even in very difficult times on life on life’s terms.”
Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This reunion episode of The Recovery Pod brings Steven, Erik and Wes back together after a year and a half apart, and you’ll hear exactly how recovery looks when life gets busy, complicated and very real. The chat kicks off with a simple check-in: what’s changed since they last sat down together?
From promotions and long-term relationships to job hopping and moving to a beach-town recovery house, you’ll get a snapshot of three very different recovery paths that all share one thing – staying clean and trying to live by spiritual principles. Commitment and “life on life’s terms” run through the whole conversation.
Wes talks about learning commitment through the programme and how it now shapes work, marriage and parenting: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Steven contrasts that with his own lesson of *not* committing to things that clearly aren’t good for him and instead “choosing myself”. Erik adds a practical angle, sharing how buying a house and raising a nearly four-year-old have become unlikely milestones he never thought possible early in recovery.
You’ll also hear a frank discussion of different recovery approaches, including cali sober, maintenance meds and partial abstinence. The trio stick to their own abstinence-based path but consciously pull back from judging others, focusing instead on how any mind- or mood-altering substance affects their connection with a Higher Power. Honesty, regular meetings (especially in-person), step work fears, and the daily question of “who am I answering to today?” all get airtime, with plenty of humour and self-awareness.
If you’re juggling work, family, relationships and recovery – or wrestling with ideas like cali sober and spiritual principles – this conversation might give you a few questions to ask yourself: what are you answering to today, and is it feeding your spirit or draining it?
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