For those in recovery, being honest can be difficult. In fact, it can be the single most important predictor of success in recovery. There is a reason it is so difficult. Recovery involves looking at our whole selves and being honest with others and ourselves about the reality of who we are and how we treat those we care about most. Honesty is deeper than just stating the facts of life. Honesty involves living with integrity – being who you say you are.
In the early stages of recovery honesty can be difficult. It is not easy or comfortable to always look at those ugly demons that pop up in our day-to-day lives. We hang out with people who do not serve our higher power. We do things like visit an old drug dealer and score drugs because it is habit. We fail to forget about how this action will affect others and the consequences of making poor choices. The reality is that if we were to take an honest inventory of our lives we would probably behave differently. For those in recovery, it can be easy to fool yourself into thinking you are someone different than what you are; however, being willing to dig deeper into your subconscious mind and look at the good, bad and ugly is where true growth happens.
For those not willing to look at the truth, they may never get better. The reason why honesty is so important is because everything hinges on it. The reason people drink alcohol and do drugs is because they wish to escape reality. Alcoholics create their own reality by escaping what is real. Either reality is too difficult or perhaps they are recovering from something very traumatic. Whatever the reason, drugs help people escape but in the escaping one’s soul and essence is lost – the very thing that makes one whole.
In AA the term, “half measures avail us nothing” is highly valuable. That means that doing things half-heartedly will in turn produce meaningless results. Honesty is the first place to begin when thinking about recovery. It is important to think of yourself in relation to others. Think of all the ways you wrong and were wronged. Feel those deep emotions. Allow yourself to be angry or sad or disappointed and then make amends. Take steps to do things differently and find the proper help. Honesty can help you see your own potential, as well as teach you valuable lessons from others.
