This aspect was introduced earlier, mainly because it had to be tied with the concept that committing to do the aforementioned actions before continuing down to the fork in the road.  Again, this commitment to action does not mean committing to staying abstinent.  As I mentioned, the reason commitment is necessary is that this program is useless if you don’t do it.  In the past, I would totally avoid anything that would hinder my going out and eating.  Note that I framed it as “not going out” rather than “staying abstinent.”  This is because when I was standing at the fork in the road “staying abstinent” was too abstract a concept to deal with in the moment.  It was a “go” or “no go” situation.  I needed to see it in those terms.

Again, just commit to doing it no matter what.  It won’t take a huge amount of time and if it at least helps you formulate why you’re doing what you’re doing, it’s important information for the future.

One important warning sign:  a cunning, baffling and powerful foe

To quote Shakespeare: “The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.”  In our case, the “devil” is the disease.  It’s crucial to never forget that denial is a major component of addiction.  Denial is not merely about someone denying he/she has a problem before finding the program.  It can also be about doing things in program that are not helpful and becoming convinced that those actions are helpful.

What does this mean?  It means that your disease could grab hold of this program as a way to excuse your continually relapsing.  “Yes, I’m continuing to relapse, but I’m following the six-point program, so I am learning new things every time I go out!”

In case I haven’t belabored the point enough: this is a program to help you learn lessons that will point you toward the right path if you find yourself at that fork again.  At some point, however, abusing this program by using it as an excuse to go out defeats its entire purpose.  I’m not wishing this on you (or anyone), I’m just saying this is something to watch for.  Realizing that if you are abusing the process, that might well become a “lesson learned” in and of itself.