At times we wonder at NA if we are doing things right. Do we go to enough gatherings? Do we ask for help from the person who supports us, work the Steps, share, read the literature, live according to the program? We realize the value of this brotherhood of recovering drug addicts to us – what would we be without it? What if we implement the program in the "wrong" way? Does this make us "bad students" of the program?
We can put our insecurities aside by looking back at the Third Tradition, which assures us that "the only condition for membership is the desire to stop using." There are no rules that say we have to attend so many meetings or which meetings, work the Steps a certain way in a certain amount of time, or live our lives a certain way to be liked by someone in order to be considered "successful" NA members.
It is true that if we want for ourselves the recovery that members we respect have, we will want to implement the program the way it worked for them and made their recovery possible. On the other hand, in the brotherhood of NA we are always free; we work the program in the best possible way for us, not for someone else. The only requirement to be a member is the desire to stop using.
