I need to surround myself with people who are going in the same direction that I have decided to go into. As stated, “water seeks its own level.” Maybe you have heard something to the effect of “a rising tide lifts all boats.” Both are true. If I am a person of action who decides to see myself in a positive light, I am more likely to be attracted to others who strive for the same thing.
As I grew in my personal recovery so did my desire to become “normal.” When we consider the word normal and set it side by side with the word sober, they seem to go hand in hand.
Have you ever caught yourself aggressively replaying some conversation or interaction from the past? Or have you caught yourself rehearsing some future conversation or scenario in your head? Both of those things bring me to an awareness that I am not present. In Al-Anon, we call that obsessive thinking. Either ruminating about some previous event that I cannot change or obsessing about some future event that hasn’t even come to pass—neither of these is beneficial to me nor the relationships in my life.
Accountability simply means that I am subject to the obligation to report, explain or justify something. It means I am answerable. Once again for things that are outside of me that are part of what I do not who I am this is rather easy to do because it’s not personal. So many of us are answerable or we have an obligation to fulfill a particular commitment or process regarding our work.