many of those in recovery, myself included, believe that willpower is not enough.
if you can come to the conclusion that life really will be better without drinking, you will have a foundation. i did this by spending some time alone with pen and paper, just thinking and taking some inventory. i figured that without honesty this was futile. the honesty part was the hardest. i attempted to be open minded.-if my determination was to be that drinking and using gave my more benefit, i would continue with NO RESERVATIONS!
i pretty much knew my drinking/using pattern wasnt doing me any favors. just couldnt say it out loud. once i seriously thought about it though, i realized i would GAIN a more significant life by stopping.
willpower is something i have leaned on only on occasion. the core of my program is absolute conviction that getting wasted really has nothing more to offer me.