Recovery Sayings
We invite you to submit recovery sayings for this collection.
All submissions are subject to approval by the 24 Club House Committee and will be made at the sole discretion of the Board.
Email your suggested Sayings to: 24.club.princeton@gmail.com
[Note: It may take as long as 6 to 8 weeks for new sayings to be approved and posted.]
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The worst moment for the atheist is when he is really thankful and he has nobody to thank. — Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Thanks to AA, now I have problems in areas where I didn’t used to have areas!
All you really need is a God you can do business with…
Good morning, this is God. I’ll be handling ALL your problems today. Thanks, but I won’t require your help.
Alcoholism is like a blue bug light: El Zappo grande!
An alkie cannot put the cap back on Pandora’s bottle.
THE SENILITY PRAYER :
Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference.
When everything is going OK, it’s really in my better interest NOT to mess it up.
Happiness consists of a solid faith, good health, and a bad memory. –Clare Boothe Luce
Never in doubt, seldom correct!
I wasn’t insane, I just overshot the mark a little bit.
I don’t have feelings, but now that I’m in recovery I think about feelings.
Getting sober is a little like playing a country & western song backwards; you get your wife back your job back, your truck back and your dog back.
I’m too blessed to be stressed! — Harley, a Street Musician on Treme
Alcoholics are free-range idiots. — John McM / 24 Club
First we work the program because we have to. Then we work the program because we are willing to. Finally we work the program because we want to.
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Nobody can be lucky all the time; so when your luck deserts you in some fashion, don’t think you’ve been abandoned in your prime, but rather that you’re saving up your ration. -Piet Hein, poet (1905-1996)
Dreaming permits each and every one of us to be quietly and safely insane every night of our lives. -William C. Dement, professor of psychiatry (b. 1928)
Lying to ourselves is more deeply ingrained than lying to others. -Fyodor Dostoevsky, novelist (1821-1881)
As someone once said, we are all unique, just like everyone else.
We have found much of heaven and we have been rocketed into a fourth dimension of existence of which we had not even dreamed. -Big Book / page 25
The rewards of recovery are granted every day. We begin with the gift of a new day and new possibilities.
It is good to realize that we do not have to do everything alone. Help is available. Invisible hands come to support us at the right time.
“Of couse no one did that for me, nor did I expect them to, but they should have and so it’s their fault”
Being atheist is like being the only sober person in the car and no one will let you drive.
F.I.N.E. [I’m] Frustrated, Insecure, Neurotic, Emotional
F.E.A.R. Face Everything And Recover [Or F Everything And Run]
N.U.T.S. Not Using The Steps
E.G.O. Edging God Out.
D.E.N.I.A.L. Don’t Even Notice I Am Lying.
H.A.L.T. [Don’t get too] Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired.
H.O.P.E. Happy Our Program Exists
H.O.W. Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness
S.P.O.N.S.O.R. Sober Person Offering Newcomers Suggestions On Recovery.
G.O.D. Good Orderly Direction
B.I.G. B.O.O.K. Believing In God Beats Our Old Knowledge.
S.L.I.P. Sobriety Losing Its Priority.
A.C.T.I.O.N. Any Change To Improve Our Nature.
P.R.O.G.R.A.M. People Relying On God Relaying A Message.
S.T.E.P.S. Solutions To Every Problem Sober
K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple, Sweetheart
He fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down.
It’s so dry, the trees are bribing the dogs.
If things get any better, I may have to hire someone to help me enjoy it.
Time buys me NOTHING. I’ve got to keep doing the work to stay sober. –Cathy W / 24 Club
Knowing there is a way to live a happy, joyous & free life without having alcohol poison everything I do gives me sustaining hope & serenity…
I cannot speak for anyone but myself, but let’s simply say I now see things in polarity: there now is THIS & then there was THAT. I surely know what THAT was like & I much prefer THIS!
Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies. -Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, philosopher (1844-1900)
Does it really need to be said?
Does it need to be said now?
Do I really need to say it?
I came to from a blackout running out of a bar. I had no idea if I was running away from the crowd or running with it.
There’s grit in my machinery. — Harriet
“NO” is a complete sentence. — Harriet
We must become willing to tell the Truth! — Lorette P
For this alcoholic, the holidays began the day before Thanksgiving
& ended the Tuesday after Labor Day — John H
The alcoholic’s Bermuda TriaSiriusXM
The alcoholic Bermuda Tringle is composed of Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year’s.
I didn’t know I had to drink everyday until I tried not to.
The longer I stay sober, the lower I remember my bottom was. –Andy T
I seek permanent sobriety, one day at a time.
You are probably an alcoholic if your “bottom” gets lower more quickly than you can you can lower your standards
Hope is not a strategy — as seen on Rich R’s T-Shirt
Attending AA meetings is NOT a free pass for misbehaving at home
Getting sober & attending meetings does NOT make you a hero
I am powerless over EVERYTHING; I cannot get sober without help.
We learn to listen so we can listen & learn — as quoted by Rich R
For an alcoholic, everyone else is just a means to an end.
I’m getting used to the idea that God does a better job of running my life than I do.
A sponsor’s job is to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable. –
In time we find that because of our shame about being afraid, we have isolated ourselves from the very people who can help us.
Make plans but don’t plan results.
But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads? –Albert Camus
We know for certain that nobody’s behavior – no matter how offensive, distasteful or vicious – is worth the price of a relapse.
“Faith” is a fine invention / For gentlemen who see / But microscopes are prudent / In an emergency. –Emily Dickinson, poet (1830-1886)
What happens to us is not as important as how we respond.
When you are arguing with an idiot, make sure the other person isn’t doing the same thing.
Why should I settle for good self-esteem when, with the right medication, I could have great self-esteem?
Help me learn that daily living needs the light of humor.
I’m grateful I’ve been able to give up! — Jeanette
Whenever I did my many geographics I was always there waiting to welcome myself.
I drank so I could fully embrace my degradation
A small dose of reality is better than no reality at all.
“When you hear hoof-beats, think horses, not zebras.”
On HUMILITY:
One guy introduced himself to another at an AA meeting by saying “shake the hand of a man who shook the hand of Bill W”.
To which the first guy responded “well, I was at the Waldorf-Astoria last night, so kIss the ass of a guy who sat in Marilyn Monroe’s chair”.
Why does the alkie think alcohol is a FRIEND when we have great evidence to the contrary? Our family, friends, colleagues and society at large can certainly testify otherwise.
I thank God for AA & I thank AA for God.
You’re not an alcoholic, you’re just a maladjusted social drinker.
Everything I’ve learned about living a sane productive life I’ve learned in AA.
AA is a program of recovery NOT a course from which you graduate — Lorette P
Opportunity may knock only once, but temptation leans on the doorbell. –Anonymous
At long last I surrendered; I had a sudden realization that there must be a higher power because it certainly wasn’t my common sense that enabled me to stop drinking and get sober.
To love another person is to see the face of God. — Came to Believe book
I need to attend meetings so I’ll remember why I need to attend meetings.
When I wake up in the morning I can choose to feel bad or feel good. — Ann Richards
I have the power to choose how I feel.
Anger can be a cover up for guilt, shame and vulnerability.
It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels. We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a subtle foe. We are not cured of alcoholism. What we REALLY HAVE is a daily reprieve contingent on the MAINTENANCE of our spiritual condition.
— AA Big Book “Into Action”, page 85
I was a social drinker. Drinking made me EXTREMELY social
Without maintenance, sobriety has a very short half-life — Malik K
I believe the AA program is simply the will of God being put to practical, everyday use. — Came to Believe book
It’s easier to STAY sober than it is to GET sober.
I’m in real danger if I believe the lie that booze is EVER gonna work for me.
By nature touchy and suspicious, the alcoholic likes to be left alone to work out his puzzle, and he has a convenient way of ignoring the tragedy which he inflicts meanwhile upon those who are close to him. He holds desperately to a conviction that, although he has not been able to handle alcohol in the past, he will ultimately succeed in becoming a controlled drinker. — Jack Anderson / Sat. Eve Post 1941
I had blackouts that some people refer to as “the eighties”. — Michael M
My priorities were set by my craving for alcohol. — Ted M
Stay away from slippery people, places & things: they’ll get you drunk before you get them sober.
Upon awaking I ask God for a sincere desire to not drink TODAY. — Molly P
You’re in real trouble when the slippery slope starts to look like a playground.
The monkey may be off my back, but the circus is still in town.
Pray that God’s will be done, because that’s what you’re gonna get…
I’m now able to “pray constantly”.
The only meeting you’re late to is your first one.
Accept with quiet simplicity all that life brings you.
My illness DEPENDS upon my ability to ignore it.
Facts do not cease to exist merely because they are ignored. –Aldous Huxley
Happiness is a by-product of a healthy attitude.
You are probably an Alkie if, when you are drinking you cannot stop, and when you ARE stopped you can’t stay stopped.
If you dress for battle you get war.
I may have a problem, but if I drink I have two problems.
Recovery is active. When we are working at it, we are recovering.
We had made a mess of our lives, and no human power could relieve our alcoholism. By accepting and admitting this, we were able to find a new way of life.
If you use booze as a tool to overcome shyness, fear, etc., it becomes a boomerang that comes back & cuts you to ribbons. — Bill W
You’re either IN AA or AROUND AA.
The answer is in the steps, even if the answer is NO or NOT YET.
How drunk can I get today without getting caught?
You don’t have to do anything stupid to let people know yor’re hurting inside.
STOP! Don’t do anything. Remember, your BEST thinking got you this far.
I especially identify with the idea that my illness depends upon my ability to deny it exists. WHEW!
This is a hard concept for us addicts to get: we believed avoidance was a form of self-care. Our illness depended on our ability to deny its
existence. Only when we were bleeding out of every pore of our body,
were we willing to admit that maybe there was a slight problem. We were
afraid of the facts. To face the facts meant dealing with betraying our
illness. It meant admitting we were lost and in need of help from
others.
Recovery, from Step One on, is about confronting our issues straight on.
We take personal inventory in order to break through our denial and bond with the truth. We face, directly when possible, the people we have hurt because the fact is we have hurt many and we have a responsibility to try to help heal these wounds. As we do these actions, we watch ourselves become stronger. Our confidence – not arrogance – grows. Do we always like facing the facts? No! But our lives aren’t based only on feelings anymore, they are based on doing the next right thing.
Prayer for the Day
Higher Power, with Your help and guidance I can break through my wall of denial. Show me the things I need to face.
Today’s Action:
Sometime during the day, I will sit down and make a list of issues I am
avoiding. I’ll commit to talking with my sponsor about what is on the
list.
The price of sobriety is continual vigilance.
It’s not so much about NOT drinking as it is about living sober.
Sometimes the best that happens is that people intuitively know that I’m baffled. — James D
Sharing what’s going on helps with relapse prevention.
Truth is NOT simply for our personal convenience.
The euphoric and irresponsible abandonment of reality is NOT happiness. –Neal S
My definition of happiness was anything less than excruciating pain. –Tom (Andy’s sponsor)
Higher Power, help me remember my only work today is to do Your will for me. It is not my job to be You.
We cannot negotiate the requirements for sobriety.
We believed avoidance was a form of self-care. Our illness depended on our ability to deny its existence. Only when we were bleeding out of every pore of our body, were we willing to admit that maybe there was a slight problem. We were afraid of the facts. To face the facts meant dealing with betraying our illness. It meant admitting we were lost and in need of help from others
Unplug my Higher Power & uncork my lower power.
He’s one letter short of an M&M
It doesn’t take intelligence to get & stay sober; it takes desire.
Humility is our acceptance of ourselves. –Anonymous
AA: the Society of the Second Chance
Insanity is doing the same thing over & over expecting different results.
Sobriety is doing the same thing over & over expecting the same results.
My disease is trying to isolate me in a corner and kill me.
Grief allows you to let go of something you’ve lost only when you begin to accept what you now have in it’s place.
As our minds cling to the familiar, to our established expectations, we can become trapped in feelings of disappointment, confusion and anger that create our own internal worlds of suffering.
Evil thoughts and destructive attitudes are not forced on us by fate. They are choices we make as we act and react to events in our lives.
Admitting our powerlessness finally gave us the freedom to make choices.
Wisdom isn’t cheap: we pay for it with pain.
If you’re going to drink coffee it should change your life. Otherwise hot water will do just fine.
I went on Sprees of Terror!
I continued chasing that first high, but it ALWAYS eluded me.
I’m a member of Maladjusted Social Drinkers Anonymous
This disease comes roaring back if we don’t treat it daily.
The search for God is a privilege.
As long as I stay sober I can accomplish anything I want.
That sense of being trapped is an illusion. We are not controlled by circumstances, our past, the expectations of others, or our unhealthy expectations for ourselves. We can choose what feels right for us, without guilt. We have options.
Recovery is not about behaving perfectly or according to anyone else’s rules. More than anything else, recovery is about knowing we have choices and giving ourselves the freedom to choose.
Higher Power, I ask You to come into my life and show me how to trust and understand You.
The reason women like men is their expectations of us are so low we can hardly disappoint them.
You can’t “catch” sobriety. It isn’t infectious. Alcoholism is a disease that requires DESIRE to overcome it.
You don’t come into AA on the wings of success.
Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. –Joseph Addison
I just wanted to be oblivious
I will find as much happiness as I want today. The Serenity Prayer, used often, will be the key. the Serenity Prayer puts us in charge of our own happiness.
Sobriety is portable: you can take it anywhere you go.