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Sobriety is not easy for people at any point in the journey. Whether it is early on or much later, personal responsibility and accountability matter to the success of that person’s experiences. To maintain an ongoing recovery requires focusing on themselves and their choices. Every decision they make matters in recovery because it can lead them further away from recovery if they are not intentional about their goals.
Accountability Matters
Personal accountability is one cornerstone of a healthy recovery. This involves understanding how the plan is going to go and realizing each decision they made in the past now affects their present and future. Every decision now going forward impacts how they will create the future they want. In the past, with addiction, they may not have been accountable for anything but the substances they used. Looking for, buying, smoking, or using the substances became the goal after a while. Whether they wanted it to be this way or not, they were addicted and could not break free until they got help. Recovery teaches people how to empower their decision-making process with freedom of choice. They get to choose how they will create their recovery journey going forward.
Tech-Savvy Tools
The right tools make all the difference with sobriety. They provide information that helps people with addictions understand why it happens. Education is important for people who struggle with addiction. When people use tools in recovery, they are trying to add things to the process like apps or blogs. This can help people find a personal connection to others or help them learn about themselves, but sometimes it is too much. What people often need is real-life connection away from technology. It all depends on the person and what they need to stay on top of their recovery goals.
Finding the Right Partner
An accountability partner or mentor can help a person practice personal responsibility. A sober relationship with someone who understands the struggle helps the individual deal with triggers when they arise and cope with isolation. Recovery can be very lonely and isolating oneself is not going to help the journey. An accountability partner can help a person in recovery learn how to deal more effectively with the challenges of being accountable at work and in their personal lives. Finding the right partner for the journey is not just about one person. It is about people who can journey alongside someone in recovery and help them discover their strengths and shore up their weak spots. Everyone has triggers and challenges which make recovery difficult. If they just had people to walk with them, everything would be less difficult to experience as bumps come along.
Make a Statement
To stay accountable, it helps to write down goals. This cheat sheet is more than just five ways to stay accountable. It is a hard and fast statement that lays out why the person wants to be accountable, the risks of dismissing this promise, and what it means to choose wisely for their future. An accountability partner is a great way to keep someone accountable for staying on top of making this stick. A statement does not need to be hard and fast. It does need to be flexible and able to change as time goes by. Accountability and responsibility come with declaring goals but also being able to lay them down when things are not working and discern positive next steps.
Find a Program
Programs are a way to help people stay accountable with proven strategies that have worked for decades. Some people love them and thrive under their guidance. Others don’t find it as helpful or don’t continue with them after a while. SMART Recovery and 12-step programs are some of the best-known programs out there. It can help to try them out for a while to see what works but stick with one program rather than jumping around. This helps build community, trust, and further responsibility to a core group that can help celebrate successes and challenges.
Share Hope and Success
It is easy to get caught up in thinking things are not going well sometimes. It is equally important to make sure and share successes with people who support the journey. Sharing with others is good for the soul and helps build that accountability circle. Everyone who journeys from addiction to recovery needs people who can help them grow. Friends and loved ones want to see an individual thrive in recovery. Some ways to consider doing this:
- Jump online and write about it
- Share stories at a 12-step or another program
- Talk openly in group settings with others that are trusted about successes along the journey
To maintain sobriety, people need each other. They need to know there are challenges but also people are there to help guide them. Personal responsibility is the key to success in any recovery program. It takes finding ways to engage with people who are willing to step out in faith for an individual and support them as they learn to move forward in recovery. Recovery is tough but people can grow and find hope again in the midst of the difficult challenges they face with support.
Forge is a place to come and recover your life from addiction. We help you reimagine what is possible and create the life you’ve been dreaming of.
Call us today: 1-888-224-7312
