Success Means Staying The Course And Living Your Life

January 14,2013

Success can be defined as œThe accomplishment of an aim or purpose. In recovery, you've already accomplished the most awesome task, taking control of your addiction...

Success Means Staying The Course And Living Your Life

What is success? Success can be defined as œThe accomplishment of an aim or purpose. In recovery, you've already accomplished the most awesome task, taking control of your addiction. But is it enough to begin recovery and then relapse, or is the success then termed a failure?

Recovery is a series of successes and failures. You begin your addiction with a failure, the commencement of your life with drugs. Then you find recovery, a success. You relapse, a failure, you recover, a success, and so on. And you continue to use the roller coaster of successes and failures until finally, with determination, you never relapse again, and remain in good recovery. But is each relapse really a failure?

Failure, of course, can be defined as a lack of success. The question, then, is what do you learn from a relapse that can be called œexperience instead of a failure? If you gain wisdom and knowledge in a relapse, even if you don't recognize the education until you rediscover recovery, isn't that a success in its own right?

Certainly the object, when seeking recovery, is to find it and keep it. In the best of all worlds, we keep those things in life that matter most and discard the rest. But in recovery, we often learn from our errors. Keeping mistakes to non-life-threatening situations is essential to having the opportunity to learn from them. And when you learn from the things you do, you have succeeded!

Success in recovery comes in many flavors. Obviously, we've already talked about the first one. That was easy. But what about developing a life without mind-altering substances to distract your path to success? Things like a meaningful job, a quality relationship that is based on the person, and not their access to drugs and alcohol. Things like a home that isn't a crack house, or the underside of a bridge, or somebody else's sofa? Doctor visits that aren't precipitated by some odd insect, or an infection resulting from your abuse of substances, or worse, an overdose? You see, success is a relative term.

œOne day at a time is the mantra we hear in all 12 Step programs. It makes sense to a person in recovery, because staying in the moment helps you focus on the immediate needs of your life, and the only œtomorrow thinking is about things in life that require planning, not worry.

Today you are in recovery. Today you seek a life filled with meaning and promise. And for today, that is enough.

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Reach out to us. At A Center for Addiction Recovery, our licensed therapists and certified counselors are dedicated to help you or your loved one recover from drug or alcohol addiction. Our premier substance abuse treatment center provides unique programs to help patients recognize the origin of the problem that caused them to self-medicate. Learning how to deal with these problems results in facing situations, instead of avoiding them; this also reduces the chances of relapsing. For more information on receiving drug or alcohol addiction treatment, you may contact us for free consultation at:

Center for Addiction Recovery “ Addiction Treatment Center: 1-800-570-4562

Physical, Emotional and Spiritual Recovery

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