“People Over Personalities”

The AA principle "principles over personalities" represents one of recovery's most essential guidelines for maintaining focus on what truly matters: the spiritual principles and practices that support sobriety, rather than getting caught up in personality conflicts, personal likes and dislikes, or interpersonal drama that can derail recovery progress.

This principle recognizes that recovery communities, like all human gatherings, contain people with diverse personalities, backgrounds, communication styles, and personal quirks. Some individuals we encounter in recovery will naturally appeal to us, while others may irritate, trigger, or challenge us. The principle of "principles over personalities" teaches us to maintain focus on recovery fundamentals—honesty, humility, service, spiritual growth—regardless of whether we personally like or connect with the people delivering these messages.

This self-assessment is designed to help you examine your relationship with this crucial recovery principle. It explores how effectively you can separate recovery wisdom from its messenger, identifies areas where personality conflicts might be compromising your recovery engagement, and helps you develop stronger skills for maintaining principle-centered focus even when dealing with difficult personalities or interpersonal challenges.