Progress, Not Perfection

Recovery can feel like a roller coaster.  Sometimes it can seem like one step forward and two steps backward.  Our progress may feel tentative.  We may experience long plateaus in which it seems nothing is changing.  If we relapse, we can feel terrible despair and hopelessness.  We may believe we have failed.  Cultivating self-acceptance along the way is an important tool in recovery.  Most have found that during challenging times, if we look at what is going on and how we are conducting ourselves, we can usually identify some positive growth.  We learn to look for progress, not perfection.

With the help of the fellowship, we take an honest look at ourselves but we also try to avoid unnecessary judgment.   No one grows in an atmosphere of criticism.  Abstinence from compulsive sexual behavior sometimes happens quickly, but it may also happen over time and with some false starts.  We try to be gentle with our own imperfections and the imperfections of those around us.