I just returned from a professional conference and boy am I jazzed up! One thing I was reminded of is that it is through adversity and failure that we learn and grow. If we really learn by our mistakes, I am a certifiable genius, not just certifiable.
I entered into abstinence and moved into addiction recovery through the school of hard knocks. I had no idea what people were talking about in the recovery rooms. Though relapse was not part of my story, I moved through discomfort and pain to emerge on the other side.
How did I do it? Not through intellectual insight or study, not from getting perfect at spirituality, or saying I'm sorry but rather through pure cussedness and refusal to take no for an answer. It was like this…folks said I would fail, well nobody tells me what to do. I'll get sober just to prove you wrong.
I accidentally did the right things for the wrong reasons. You couldn't keep me out of meetings, it said so right in the rules, so I was going to keep coming back until you finally gave in and told me how to get sober. I would wear you all down.
The thing that saved my life was persistance, certainly not my intellect. I have learned a lot since then, but man I'll tell you, this baby fell more than 300 times before he could walk alone. Never mind walk tall with pride, I 'm still working on that in addiction recovery.
There is a gallery of sober living and life skill information available in the free, 89 page Recovery Rolodex, Click Here
"5 Avoidable Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Recovery"
Click On: The Recovery Club
4 responses so far ↓
1 therapydoc // May 11, 2007 at
You're amazing.
2 The Junky's Wife // May 20, 2007 at
Thanks for this post. Reading stories like yours gives me hope that things can get better…
3 Cindi // Dec 4, 2007 at
Your recovery story is peppered with an awesome sense of humor! It is only the beginning of a beautiful future. Continue on the pursuit of happiness, joy and freedom!
When in doubt, seek the "promises" out in the Alcoholics… (or any addiction) Anonymous "Big Book" Chapter six INTO ACTION. The paragraph begins with this quote, "If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be AMAZED before we are halfway through…" HURRAY!!!!!!
4 Somnilocus // May 17, 2008 at
Well first off, congrats on your recovery. And thank you for inspiring others to do the same.
It's a hard road to take, but remaining on the road of addiction is even harder. Stories like yours give people hope, they can see themselves in what you describe as your past and can imagine themselves in your future. 
Leave a Comment