It’s quite often said that what you put in front of your recovery, you will lose. In my experience, I have found this to be true. I have seen friends deprioritize recovery and quit school, relationships, work, and various other things in front of their recovery.
From my experience, I have seen this play out in two different ways. Either it leads to relapse or the individual recognizes their priorities are out of order and makes the necessary changes to reprioritize their recovery.
I understand that keeping your recovery first can be very difficult when you have exams, work, family obligations, errands, relationships, etc.
When I started my recovery, I was able to attend meetings every day and be involved in recovery all the time. This was very important for me in my early recovery because I needed that drastic life change.
Since I put my recovery first and was doing the next right thing, my life started to become full with school, obligations with family, relationships, and various other responsibilities.
However, it was harder to prioritize my recovery when I had all these other responsibilities pulling me for my attention. It was a lot easier to have my recovery as my top priority when it was the only thing that I had to do.
Even when I started to get all these new responsibilities, I always have managed to keep my recovery as my first priority. However, that doesn’t look the same as it did when I first started my recovery process.
I have always talked to my network on a daily basis, hit multiple meetings throughout the week, and had individuals that could help redirect me when I got off track.
Lastly, not only does keeping my recovery first allow me to have a full life but it also has allowed me to manage my responsibilities better.
