WILLINGNESS

August 18, from “Strengthening My Recovery” daily reader

“With willingness, we are well on our way to recovery.” BRBp.50

In the rooms of recovery, we learn to use the acronym HOW: Honest, Open-minded, and Willing. In ACA, we need to be all three. However, willingness may well be the key to doing the work it takes to achieve the results we seek.

There is a big difference between wanting something and being willing to do the work to get it. Most of us have spent our life up to this point wanting things: higher self-esteem, less anxiety, and a family that loves us unconditionally.

So we enter the ACA program with a mental list of what we want. But are we willing to put forth the effort to recover? We make time for others, for work, for recreational activities, but making time for ourselves may be a foreign concept.

In ACA, the only person we are trying to change is ourselves. The way to make that happen is to make the time for it to happen – to be willing to put ourselves on our schedule, maybe for the first time in our lives.

On this day I will focus on changing my “want” list to include being willing to spend time on myself and my program.”

My Experience:

How true this is.  Recovery is a combination of: Willingness, Courage, and Trust.  I started working the steps because I was willing to put some work in on myself.  I trusted my Higher Power that I had chosen the right Sponsor.  However, I had chosen a couple of sponsors prior to my current one that didn’t work out the best.  But I entrusted my Higher Power with the journey and had the courage to keep going until the right situation was presented.  My sponsor often comments on my willingness to do the work, to look at the tough issues, to really walk through the fire.  The results, he sees a much different person today than he did three short years ago.  I have a much more healthy attitude, more zeal for life, and being able to recognize when I need to work on things and actually take the time to work on those things.  More importantly, my anger has subsided and I am able to better identify true feelings and work through and/or experience those for which I need to.  All this because I was willing!  Are you willing?

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