A common rationale to validate feeling guilty is the wry justification that “It helps keep me honest.”
First off, no it doesn’t. On the contrary, it often makes a liar out of you, prompting you to make an off-the-cuff promise which you are not likely to keep.
Here’s how that works: When you make any promise from guilt, your brain considers the promise as disposable, like an emotional band-aid. So once it has served its purpose by temporarily assuaging your guilt, the “promise” is dismissed, forgotten, and not followed through on in action.
Second, you don’t need to rely on guilt to “keep you honest”. You’re far better off relying on your self-respect, which itself gets stronger every time you use it.
Simply put, guilt is a toxin, and a weapon of cowardice. So I recommend that you never rely on guilt to move or motivate yourself or anyone else. There is always a superior alternative.
Reject guilt, stay clean and cultivate your self-respect.