Both in and out of recovery, one of the habits of people I look up to is that they're disciplined about taking some time each day for spiritual habits that involve time apart: a set time in their day when they get alone ... reflecting, taking in spiritual truth, praying. Call it quiet time, personal retreat, prayer time, meditation time, whatever. The specific activities done in this time of daily solitude and spiritual connection vary, but the action itself seems universal and essential.
 

Without exception, people I know who've had deep, long-term recovery have made this a cornerstone of their program. In the spiritual life, people I've learned from and looked up to the most have made this a central part of their lives. 

In the Renewed Man program I run, this is the bedrock foundation upon which the practices and work of the program are built. Take some time every day to connect with God, and connect with your commitment to a life of recovery and self-control.
 

In her excellent book "Lost in Wonder" (which is all about this practice of taking time on a regular basis to connect more deeply with God), Esther DeWaal writes this: 
 

To take time to be apart, which I consciously give to myself as something positive, creative, is not a luxury, it is essential. The gift of space for myself seems so simple, and in a way it is; but it is also surprisingly difficult to do without some form of external encouragement....
 

Its purpose is the same in whatever way it is used: to wake us from drift and drowsiness into a fuller and deeper sense of attentiveness to the world around and to the presence of God in that world.
 

If we fail to find the time to stand back, to give ourselves a break, a breathing space, we are in danger of failing to be fully alive, or to enjoy that fullness of life for which we were created.... In any particular situation there is the danger that we are wasting the God-given possibility of living life to the full. I long for fullness of life and it is frightening to think that I might be wasting that most precious of God's gifts, the chance to live fully and freely. Stopping to take time to look at the pattern of my life, and to think and pray about it, will almost inevitably mean that I not only learn more about God but I discover more about myself.

NEXT ACTION:

Today's recovery action is to make sure you're building -- and strengthening -- this habit. Take some time, every day, ideally in the morning, to quiet the mind, connect with God, and reconnect to your purpose in life and intention to live with self-control over the area you struggle in with compulsive behaviors.