The 12 Steps of Recovery | Step One: A Way to a Better Living

By: Nathan Vargas, Recovery Coach & Psych Tech

Step One: We admitted that we were powerless over our addiction, that our lives had become unmanageable.

Step One of any 12-step program states that: “We admitted we were powerless over our addiction, that our lives became unmanageable.”

Why is this important and what value does it have? This first step is one of the most important to practice every day, because it allows us to build a firm foundation for where our recovery house will be built.

But, in order to build a comfortable house of recovery, we have to first start with a solid foundation that does not waver. Our recovery becomes solidified by this fact that we remind ourselves daily…that we don’t have control over our addiction, and we never will.

How do we go about practicing the Step One in our everyday lives?

The first step is comprised of two different pieces—powerlessness and unmanageability. This step also incorporates other aspects including honesty and surrender.

Practicing honesty.

  • We can practice honesty by looking inside us and reviewing some of the things we want to change.
  • We learn to be more open and talk about our feelings and thoughts instead of keeping them bottled up. 

When we truly practice honesty, there is a sense of release and freedom found in knowing we don’t have to hide anything anymore. That means that we can begin the healing journey and let go.

Remember, we are only as sick as our darkest kept secrets.

Practicing surrender.

I think surrender is something that comes from practicing honesty. When we truly practice honesty there is a level of surrender that begins, not just to our addiction but surrender to ourselves. That’s where the unmanageability comes into play as we look at how chaotic life has become and how little control we actually had.

  • We surrender to the idea that the way we have been living isn’t working and something needs to change. In almost every case, that change starts within us.
  • We surrender to ourselves by admitting there is a problem, and we slowly become more open to asking for help and accepting advice.

Honesty and surrender build and maintain the strong foundation for recovery.

When we combine these two ideas, we get a fully developed step one. We slowly start to see past our addiction and that there is a better way of living that’s possible for us.

Starting the healing process with surrender and honesty helps us move forward to the second step, but it’s important to remember that this is a daily step to practice in our ongoing journey of recovery. We can’t just take the first step once and expect everything to improve. Instead, we need to practice this step repeatedly to stay on the path of recovery we’ve chosen.

Sometimes, we need to practice this step multiple times a day to remind ourselves that we aren’t in control of our addiction and that things weren’t working for us before. By understanding these principles well, we can lay a strong foundation for our recovery and make a solid start on the next step.

You are not alone! We can support you or your loved one at every step of recovery.

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