You’ve maintained your sobriety. You have a sponsor, go to meetings, and have finished going through the 12 steps. Now what? The truth is that you can never really finish the 12 steps. Recovery is an on-going, consistent journey.
As you go through life in recovery, there will be ups and downs and trials and challenges. In recovery, you will experience births, deaths, disappointments, and celebrations. Working through step 1 when you are newly sober is a different experience than working step 1 with twenty years of sobriety.
As you overcome challenges and have new experiences, you grow as a person. In early recovery, you attend meetings to stay sober. After some time, you start going to meetings and working through the 12-steps to not only stay sober, but also to learn, get rid of character defects, and nurture your relationships.
Working the 12-steps is what keeps you sober. Helping others and learning from those experiences. The 12-steps are like a mirror to your inner thoughts and beliefs. Recovery is more than not drinking or using drugs. Recovery is also about growing, changing, and helping others who walk through the doors of 12-step meetings.
As you work through your recovery program, drinking and drugging may not be your biggest challenge after a few years of sobriety. You may find that you have other behaviors that you want to change such as insecurity or fear of vulnerability. Many people use the 12-steps to work through other areas of their life. All in all, drinking and using substances is just a symptom of deeper issues.
Once you have become more self aware, maintaining your sobriety becomes easier. You still need to avoid triggers and go to meetings, but with time you may consider becoming a sponsor. Becoming a sponsor is the ultimate challenge. A sponsor is a guide and mentor for others in recovery. Sponsorship plays a big part of keeping you sober, as well . Once you work through the 12-steps thoroughly, you have an understanding of recovery and can share your knowledge with others.
Help is just a phone call away. At The Kimberly Center, we can help you begging recover from the moment you walk through the door. Call us now at 855-4-KCENTER. We are committed to helping you stop the cycle of addiction by giving you the tools you need to succeed. At the Kimberly Center, you are in safe hands.
