One day you will look in the mirror and cry out to yourself, I can't do this anymore. And you will put down your drink, your drug, your food, your addictive relationship, your compulsive behavior.
You will experiment with letting go of controlling that thing that you have been hanging on to so tightly for so long. That will be the beginning.
Some other day (not necessarily the next day) you will realize that, against all odds, you have made it through another day without resorting to a maladaptive behavior that serves no helpful purpose. You will be proud that you got through the day, because it wasn't an easy day, and you will think, Maybe there is something to this recovery thing.
Maybe I can do this. And as the days go on, even if they don't stack one on top of the other, you will, indeed, do this thing called recovery.
Recovery isn't always easy, but our lives become easier to live in recovery.