Humility is one of the key components to a successful recovery from addiction. Humility is something anyone needs in order to set realistic goals, in remembering to ask for help and to acquire wisdom. Often, our natural human instinct is to work against humility and seek power and control in order to be successful. But these are empty pursuits that are not attainable. The sooner a person realizes that it is their lot in life not to be in control, the sooner they will be a whole person. This lesson certainly applies to addicts as well as everyone else.

Humility reminds a person that they must ask for help in life. No one is meant to operate as a single unit. One of the most detrimental traps a recovering addict can fall into is believing that they are alone in their recovery and they have to do it all by themselves. This contradicts everything we know about the human need to be social and feel a sense of community. Whatever it is that we are walking through in life, we are better off with friends and neighbors to turn to along the way. In times of peace, turning to others is merely therapeutic, but in times of strife, for example, when one is struggling with addiction, turning to others is necessary.

Humility also helps a person set and achieve realistic goals. Those who believe they have everything about their addiction under control are the ones who relapse, where as those who realize and acknowledge their own weaknesses are more likely to overcome them. Humility is the acceptance of one’s brokenness an the upward journey required to healing.

Lastly, humility is an indication of wisdom. It is the naive person who believes they have nothing left to learn, but it is the wise person who understands how much room for growth they have. Humility strives to achieve one’s potential where pride grows stagnant.