I was asked why this was important for a newcomer and I could only say why it was important for me. It was important for me to do this at the start because going to meetings replaced the instinctive behavior of going to buy alcohol, going to the bar, and getting drunk. It also empowered me with as much knowledge as possible early on, which of course, was the hardest time. It connected me to the fellowship I was becoming part of much faster than had I just been attending a couple meetings a week. I also know that a solid foundation is necessary in order to build any meaningful or lasting sobriety. 90/90 was part of that. I also hear people with time saying their sponsors have recommended doing 90/90 again or people just saying to themselves they are doing it again because they thought they needed it. A meeting a day seems to be best for any alcoholic...so 90/90 just builds good habits as far as initiating a program of recovery goes. Okay, so that's what I think, but I didn't want to pull a definitive answer out my ass because I really don't know for sure why it is recommended. I would like to hear from others that did this how it benefitted you and also if anyone know the specific reason why this has become such a strong recommendation to the newcomer.
Thanks,
Mark
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Thats a pretty good description of 90/90 and for me what I knew when I first got here was that the most widely known and workable way of changing bad habits was to replace them and practice the replacement for ....90 days straight.
Doing 90/90 or for me a bit more got me aclimated to the process of sitting with a group of similar minded members so that I could hear and learn new ways of living. I had rarely done that in my life expecially for that many days in a row.
I tried 90/90 in my first few months too. It was hard with my work schedule but I kept my determination no matter what. I'm not sure what I managed to do in the end. I kept coming back though. For me 90/90 was a measurable way of showing my commitment & to help develop a discipline for probably even the first time in my life. I wasn't disciplined in anything & A.A. has been helping me even through my studies now with the transferable skills it gives me! I can highly recommend 90/90 for any Newcomer & anyone who just wants to up their game. For me, recovery has been about quality of life & learning how to gain it. In the beginning I think I was more prepared to suffer before I would get help. Now, I don't leave anything to chance. I just get on it. I have to! I love life & I love living sober. Yes, 90/90 is a great start. Well done those & their examples who do it! Thank you for yours, Mark. Aloha, Jerry & yours too ;) Danielle x
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Progress not perfection.. & Practice makes Progress!
I floundered for 2 years, going to meetings on and off several times a week and could only get 1 or 2 months before picking up a drink. Yes I was a tough case, but I stubbornly kept coming back and trying a little harder each time. Finally I was willing to do whatever it took and committed myself to do a 90 in 90. I've been sober every since and that 90/90 turned into a 1000/1000 and I enjoyed every minute of it.
-- Edited by StPeteDean on Thursday 11th of June 2009 05:01:23 PM
And it is about changing habits, right, we sure did our drinking 90 in 90, right, so doing this trade was such a great idea. I did about 60 of the 90, and, after that did 5 meetings a week for very close to 10 years, in my mind I was doing this for just as long as I had relapsed, made a lot of sense to me. and the amount of times started not to matter so much, I LOVED the meetings, did not want to deprive myself of what made me always feel better.
Thanks for the Topic. Toni
-- Edited by toni baloney on Thursday 11th of June 2009 08:08:19 PM
Yeah, I see. The folks I talked to said they began to look forward to the daily meeting. Anything but drudgery, a great jumpstart to a day, were some of the terms used. Some said if they have some thing healthy and fun planned they would do 2 meetings on another day.
I guard my private down time at home so jealously. I'm still balking, but I'll keep bringing it up with people at meetings. The comments helped me see the benefits more clearly.
Yeah Angela...I don't know if you are like me in the way you drank, but for me weekends were the hardest time. That is when I would hit multiple meetings in a day. Often 2 meetings on both Saturday and Sunday. One time I hit 3 meetings. I just didn't know what else to do with my time. I know there are plenty of things to do in a day, but I couldn't really do any of them without thinking I might as well be doing them while drinking. Like...I couldn't watch a movie without wanting to drink (no wonder I missed the ends of most movies I watched), I couldn't play scrabble online without drinking (which used to be my thing)....it was messed up. I didn't know how to have fun at all and meetings were kinda fun. Furthermore, I'd always been an extrovert for the most part and through years of drinking, I became reclusive and introverted. When I stopped, that part of my personality was the first thing to return. I wanted to be in large groups of people and had no problem at all being around other people I didn't know yet. I also had no problem sharing (though I had to learn it was more acceptable for me to do this at beginner's meetings or in small meetings that were less formal). For me, my sponsor wanted my hand up and me sharing at every meeting so that people would get to know me, so that I would start being and feeling a part of, and I guess to remind others how crappy it felt to be in one's first month. It's like the reverse of what Old School AA seemed to tell newcomers "sit down and shut up." Anyhow, I continue to blab my way to sobriety lol. While it would seem AA is one rigid set of recommendations, there are some aspects of it that work more for some people than others. Meetings, sponsorship, fellowship, and service have been 95 percent of my program. Steps are going to need to come more into play soon I think though.
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