At BoardPrep Recovery Center®, we truly believe that acceptance is key to recovery. As a result, we teach that to each of our clients. Read below about one of our client’s recovery stories to learn about the importance of acceptance. Then, call BoardPrep Recovery Center® today at 866.796.4720 to begin a recovery story of your own.
Acceptance Is the Key to Recovery… and Living a New Life!
“When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, or situation – some fact of my life – unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment.” – AA Big Book
When I first came into recovery, I believed and said I wanted peace and serenity in my life. But my actions, my behavior showed otherwise. I was at odds with the police, the legal system, my dad, my significant other… and truth be told, myself! Why? Because I did NOT accept “people, places and things” as they were… in fact, I wanted everyone and everything to be different right now, so as to conform to my will and how I wanted things to be!
Working Through the 12 Steps
Working the 12 Steps with my sponsor helped me eventually realize how my demands that people and situations change were keeping me in a state of constant conflict. And when I say “constant,” I mean perpetual: there was NO peace and serenity in my life, only wave after wave of anger, frustration, anxiety, and fear rising and falling in my soul. (Along with a core-level emptiness, too).
Opening a Door With Acceptance
I remember the day I heard that phrase: “Acceptance is the key to recovery.” It was like someone had pulled open the door to my jail cell and told me I was free to go. Because it finally made sense to me that I had/have a choice: I can either struggle to try and change everybody and everything in my world OR I can accept this person just as they are or this situation just as it is – without wishing for them/it to be different.
As I’ve continued to practice accepting people and things as they are, I’ve found deeper levels of peace and serenity growing in my heart and soul. And I like being more easy-going. I may not get along with everyone I meet, but by keeping the principle of acceptance front and center in my life, I tend to have a healthy, humane response to people, rather than regularly ending up in arguments, fights, and bitterness (as I’d done in the past). Similarly, when “things” aren’t going the way I’d like, I practice acceptance. As a result, I’ll typically navigate through those challenges with less anxiety, more forbearance, and better decision-making.
Ultimately, peace and serenity are more of a choice than I’d ever imagined… and acceptance really is the key!
Learn More at BoardPrep Recovery Center®
At BoardPrep Recovery Center®, we proudly help our clients gain acceptance, allowing them to grow and thrive throughout their recovery process. To do this, we offer a range of addiction treatment programs that we tailor to each person’s individual needs. For instance, our treatment options include:
- Alcohol addiction treatment
- Cocaine addiction treatment
- Heroin addiction treatment
- Opioid addiction treatment
- Meth addiction treatment
You don’t have to go through life struggling with the way you wish things were. With acceptance, you can grow and thrive. To learn more about how our treatment programs can help you, please call BoardPrep Recovery Center® today at 866.796.4720, or contact us online.
