Changing destructive habits is what changes lives.
People grow accustomed to habits even when they are self-destructive. We who have sought the help of Twelve Step programs were often caught in patterns of behavior that injured us or other people. We want help to change these habits or we wouldn't be here now.
We learn at our first meeting that Twelve Step programs are both for the present day and for a lifetime. We are comforted and surprised by that. The comfort is in knowing help will always be available to us. The surprise is in having erroneously thought that we'd get "fixed" and not need the meetings forever.
It doesn't take us long to realize the benefits of utilizing Twelve Step recovery in our daily lives. For years we repeated the same behaviors, expecting different outcomes, but that didn't happen. Now we have a plan for living that includes Steps, slogans, friends, and support meetings - a host of new options for handling every detail of our journey. And we can see, even in a short time, that our lives are changing at last.
I can change my life if I have the willingness to use what the program is teaching me.
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'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
That'd be me, Pappy....working on it, though, so there is hope. It is so hard to change years and years of crappy behavior that I used to believe was "normal" and it was "everyone else" who had the problem(s).
Great to know there is hope and change is possible for me.
Super post!
