Understanding Principle Ten of AA Alcoholics Anonymous
#10 - The Principle of Perseverance
When it comes to understanding the Principle of Perseverance, the proof is in the pudding! When we arrive at principle ten and step ten in our AA Alcoholics Anonymous program of recovery, we are putting what we have learned into daily action. The payoff of this “persistence in doing something despite its difficulty” is a life beyond our wildest dreams.
For me, the principle of perseverance is about the persistence of growth, and self-awareness: Being mindful of my actions, my truths, thoughts, and emotions.
I’m consistently trying to improve my life, to be a better person, friend, father, and husband. I’m always looking for opportunities to grow. It would be nice to cut corners, not to have to put forth effort…but I’ve been there, and know that we ‘reap what we sow’. That’s why I look at my life with clarity now and can question, “Am I filling it up or emptying it out?”
Part of how we all keep moving forward in recovery is by continuing to take personal inventory, promptly admitting when wrong, and reflecting on the day. We are practicing perseverance by making sure we are accountable, having structure, consistency, and the commitment to do what we have to do, every day, to maintain sobriety.
There’s no simple switch to flip to stay sober, and we all have situations that put our sobriety to the test. That’s why “Perseverance” is a process of ongoing honesty, and learning. We learn how to pause when agitated, to check our motives and our reactions. Some days we are motivated to persevere by thinking of what we want to become, other days by thinking about who we don’t ever want to be again.
Perseverance Tips That Can Help Recovery Stick
I believe that to help sobriety stick, there’s not really a trick: If you create a compelling vision for your recovery daily- set goals, have structure, and consistency- and if you don’t pick up a drink or drug one day at a time, next thing you know, you’re sober. I’m not saying that it’s easy; if it were easy everybody would be doing it. But it's not. It takes patience, commitment, courage and some failures along the way. The real test is whether you let life situations knock you out of your program...or if you learn from them and choose to persevere.
For me, every day is an opportunity to maintain and sustain sobriety with my “Ideal 24”. My program has become simple, I don’t over-complicate it and I put my recovery first. I have to have a structured schedule- and stick to it- not because I’m so great, but because it helps. I persevere by having the courage to change the things I can, even if it’s one little thing at a time. This is necessary for continued sobriety and success, and even though it may be easier to sit around and bitch about something, it’s always rewarding to take the next right step instead.
Here are some positive perseverance tips that can help recovery stick:
• Create and stick to healthy habits and routines: For me, it can be as simple as diet and my eating habits (which directly affect my mind and body). I have mindfulness when I wake up of what I put in my body, my morning ritual of prayer and meditation, my connection to fellowship and being of service.
• Speaking of food, a really great recovery hack is to create snack-sized tasks! Split those huge goals into small, manageable tasks that you can call “action steps.” Make sure to take a break when you complete a task: use that moment to reflect and congratulate yourself.
• Expose yourself to health-promoting environments: Get outside as much as possible because fresh air and sunshine are wonderful antidotes for depression and anxiety. Nature has the power to nurture. While you’re out for a walk or hike use that phone you are so attached to these days and take pictures of all the beautiful or positive things that capture your attention.
• Taking a break at some point in the day and write that gratitude list…while you’re at it, write a list of positive accomplishments too.
• Staying with the positivity theme- practice mindfulness in your social media feeds and weed through your connections thoughtfully so that the next time you reach for your phone, you are greeted with healthy and positive content! If you find yourself spinning out down the social media rabbit hole set a self-love timer for a few minutes and put that phone down!
• Allow yourself to feel the power of “No”. While that may sound contradictory to this positivity message it is good to protect your valuable time by saying “no” more often. Staying focused on doing the next right thing for you on your path to recovery is largely about self-care. And sometimes that means saying “No”!
• To make recovery last, it has to be your first priority. Look at when there is a group meeting near you and put it on your schedule for a dose of perseverance. It’s a lot easier to persevere when we maintain regular 12-step meetings and participation.
The Pay Off Of Perseverance: Your Wildest Dreams
You really can’t put a price on sobriety, but the payoff of perseverance is a life beyond your wildest dreams. That may sound cliché, but I mean it. There’s no endpoint for addiction recovery, but the one thing you can count on is that your life in sobriety will never be boring! Sobriety has allowed my life to be more exciting, more meaningful, and fulfilling than I ever could have imagined.
We have these 12 spiritual principles and steps as guides, and they really do work when we “work” them. Since there is no chemical solution to a spiritual problem, the way to persevere is with spiritual maintenance.
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