As we’re working to recover, we can get caught up with all of the logistical and emotional demands of recovery – all the day-to-day things we have to take care of, all the different overwhelming feelings that come up for us. It can be hard to feel as though we’re holding ourselves accountable, to ourselves and to our sobriety, when we have so much going on in our daily lives and in our emotional world. We struggle to stay on track. We find it hard to keep up with the goals and intentions we’ve set for ourselves. We have difficulty prioritizing what’s most important in our lives because we’re busy trying to just hold it all together, battling stress and anxiety on top of our efforts to stay sober, on top of our daily demands, obligations, and responsibilities. Without feeling a sense of accountability, our progress can be hindered, and we can feel our goals of sobriety slipping away. How can we reinforce our sobriety by taking accountability?
Take A Buddy
One very helpful way is to have an accountability partner, someone we can communicate with on a regular basis, to keep each other updated on our progress, to talk through any difficulties that have arisen for us, to give each other guidance and suggestions, and to receive feedback on what we’re doing well and what can stand to be improved upon. Our partner can be a friend in recovery, a sponsor, a recovery coach, a therapist, or a fellow member of our support groups. We can take our meetings, phone calls and/or time together as an opportunity to check in with each other, to outline goals and set intentions, and to keep track of each other’s progress. We can discuss what things have impeded our recovery work, what challenges have come up for us, and what things might be threatening to derail our sobriety. We can talk about what’s working well and what needs adjusting. We can help each other to keep our goals ambitious but realistic. We can share our stories, of both struggle and success, of feeling defeated and of finding hope.
A partnership like this can work wonders for our sense of accountability. Now not only are we feeling more accountable to ourselves, but we also have the added motivation of holding ourselves accountable to someone else, someone who cares about our recovery and is fully supportive of our efforts. Being able to share our success stories with them can be the extra push we need to stay disciplined, diligent and proactive in our recovery work.
The caring, compassionate staff of The Guest House is here to support you as you start your journey to recovery and healing. Call 855-483-7800 today for more information.
tel:8554837800How Can We Help Ourselves Take Accountability?