Steps and Principles

Click the download button to print and discover the Steps and Principles recovery word search by Kyczy Hawk. Learn more about her book Life in Bite-Sized Morsels.

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Steps and principles are important when in recovery

“One Day At a Time” used to be the way I got through the week, hand over hand, from one drunken stupor to hangover to the next. I would cry in the shower, twisting the true intention of the phrase to fit my need for inebriation, “Just let me get away with using for one more day.” That Christy Lane song would run through my head, singing it for permission to use while knowing I was contorting it from the aim of the lyrics. Little did I know that this song would eventually become my mantra for healing…

…I found recovery in two steps: I stopped drinking, and then I stopped drugs. It was hard, I was not immediately better. I had to seek outside help. and convert my street-survival skills to recovery-survival skills. I was sick, I was confused, and I had physical and neurological problems as a result of my drinking and drug abuse. With time I healed. And my kids healed.

One Day at a Time took on new meaning. Rather than living in the future or the past, I had to get through today’s issue and challenges with today’s tools and resources and today’s rewards. They did not always match up: the day was too challenging for my skills, the rewards didn’t match the effort, or the challenge was too large for the effort I was willing to make. And then I started to get better: better in my body, mind and spirit; better at deferring gratification; better at knowing what a reward was. The reward has been practicing the skills to meet life on life’s terms, to enjoy the discipline of being present.