“Progress Not Perfection”

This self-assessment explores your relationship with the fundamental recovery principle "Progress Not Perfection"—a cornerstone of sustainable recovery that challenges the perfectionist thinking patterns that often undermine long-term sobriety. This principle recognizes that recovery is not about achieving flawless behavior or eliminating all character defects, but about making consistent forward movement while accepting the inevitable imperfections of human growth.

The complexity of perfectionist thinking in recovery lies in its deceptive nature. What appears to be high standards and commitment to excellence often masks rigid thinking patterns that create vulnerability to relapse, shame spirals, and recovery abandonment. Perfectionism can manifest as setting impossibly high standards, experiencing devastating shame over normal human mistakes, using minor setbacks as evidence of total failure, or believing that anything less than perfect recovery isn't "real" recovery.