This is HOW the program works

As I was studying in Working the S-Anon Program this week, I came across some great material about the HOW of the program.

HOW is an acronym that stands for:

HONESTY
OPEN-MINDEDNESS
WILLINGNESS

These 3 attitudes are the essentials of recovery.  But what do they really mean?  Here are some insights from Working the S-Anon Program.

HONESTY

Honesty in recovery means something different than the ways we may have thought about honesty in the past. In the past, we may have considered ourselves honest if we corrected the store clerk and returned extra change.

Honesty in recovery is so powerful because it is self-honesty. It is learning the art of being honest with ourselves about our needs, emotions, and motivations. This is uncomfortable, because as humans it is inevitable that we will eventually find defects that feel painful and even frightening. However, this type of honesty has the power to change our lives and open the doors to the freedom that comes from truly knowing ourselves.

OPEN-MINDEDNESS

OPEN-MINDEDNESS is being receptive to new ideas.  For me, open-mindedness has included the earth-shattering truth that perhaps I don’t know EVERYTHING.  Now I try to approach any given situation with the perspective that I see through a glass darkly just like every other human.  This has allowed me to be taught and changed; to see the world through new lenses.  This could not have happened until I began to accept the idea that my perspective might not be the only way to see things.

WILLINGNESS

WILLINGNESS is being ready to do whatever it takes to recover.  Sometimes willingness speaks to taking action, such as going to meetings, getting a sponsor, working with a qualified therapist, working the surrender process in the moment, making phone calls, etc.

Sometimes willingness speaks to our attitude, and our trust in our Higher Power. In fact, sometimes the hardest part of willingness is just being willing to wait on God’s timing and experience the pain of trauma. When trauma hits hard, there is no way around it. We have to move through it. Willingness is the most powerful thing we can bring to this experience.

These attitudes of HONESTY, Open-mindedness, and Willingness, have changed my entire outlook on life as I have worked my program and am learning more deeply how to implement them into my daily life.  They have laid a foundation for Humility and Trust and allowed my Higher Power to truly heal my BEING.  I am so grateful that I can learn more about HOW this program works in EVERY aspect of my life as I continue to work my Steps.

Keep working it!  It works!