Recovery Persistence

"Persistence"

Recovery, particularly within 12 step programs, requires both patience and persistence. As adult children of alcoholics, we often feel a natural impatience to quickly reach our goals, wanting to skip the challenging work that recovery demands. This mindset can mislead us into believing we should be doing more, improving faster, or achieving better results.

When we feel we're lagging behind or worry we'll never meet our expectations in recovery, it may just be our disease speaking. These thoughts can push us toward overexertion or, conversely, lead us to contemplate giving up. Instead, it’s essential to maintain a balanced approach, allowing our actions in recovery to stem from a place of love, rather than pressure.

There’s a powerful slogan in 12 step programs: "Just show up." This reminds us to be present in the moment and focus on taking the next right step in our journey. Showing up means finding peace in our actions instead of pushing ourselves too hard, trying to force outcomes, or fixating on the future. It grants us permission to be human, to be relaxed, and to prioritize our well-being. This method nurtures our perseverance and balance, one day at a time.

On this day, I give myself permission to suit up and just show up for myself as best as I can.

Copyright © 2013 by Adult Children of Alcoholics® & Dysfunctional Families World Service Organization, Inc.