Getting Up
A righteous person may fall seven times, yet rise again.
-Proverbs 24:16
Someone once said that you’re successful if you get up one more time than you’ve been knocked down. It is said that success is not about accumulating things, but about overcoming our inclination toward evil.
Success comes in persisting past setbacks, in getting up again. Nobody is perfect and no sane person enjoys pain. Nevertheless, because of fear of failure, many people stop trying. And there is no way to succeed without really trying.
We took a great many risks during our active alcoholism perhaps unwittingly-but we took them. Now, we should take healthy risks in recovery. Calling someone for the first time, reaching out to someone, letting our guard down, coming back after a slip-these are all examples of taking a chance on recovery, and that’s the one bet that can payoff beyond your wildest dreams.
You only fail in recovery once you stop trying. The winners in the program are the ones who keep trying even on the days they don’t feel like trying.
Take a chance on someone’s recovery. Reach out and make a friend. But not before you work on your own.
