Recovery Quotes and Slogans

Shared here to help others identify with simple recovery mottos and meme type messages!

Newest “Spiritual Gansta”

Alcoholics Anonymous Slogans

AA  formally uses these Simple Slogans to assist members to recover during difficult periods.

• Easy Does It
• First Things First
• Live and let Live
• Think……Think…….Think
• One Day At a Time
• But for the Grace of God
• Principles before Personalities

Al-Anon Family Groups Slogans

Al-Anon formally uses the above AA Slogans as well as these slogans to assist members to recover during difficult periods.

• Let go and let God
• This too shall pass
• Let it begin with me
• Just for today
• Courage to change

Other Helpful Recovery Quotes and Saying’s heard around AA and other 12 Step Rooms

Reality Checks

• Where ever you go …….there you are
• You are not alone
• Stay sober for yourself
• Look for similarities rather than differences
• Remember your last drunk, use, bet etc
• Remember that addiction is incurable, progressive, and fatal
• It takes time to get better
• Depression is anger toward inward
• The lesson I must learn is simply that my control is limited to my own behavior, my own attitudes
• The flip side to forgiveness is resentments
• The elevator is broken——-use the ‘steps’
• It isn’t the load that weighs us down——it’s the way we carry it
• If I think, I won’t drink. If I drink, I can’t think
• Sick and tired of being sick and tired
• This is a selfish program
• I drank, ate, gambled, etc: too much—too often—too long
• Minds are like parachutes—-they won’t work unless they’re open
• When your head begins to swell your mind stops growing
• A journey of a 1,000 miles begins with the first step
• When a person tries to control their addiction they have already lost control

Staying Abstinent

• Poor me…..Poor me…… Pour me a drink!
• It’s the “first” drink that gets you drunk
• One alcoholic talking to another……..
• Do it sober
• Every recovery from addiction began with one sober Minute
• The first step is the only step a person can work perfectly
• you are not required to like it, you’re only required to DO IT
• Your 12 step program will work if you want it to work
• Keep coming back

• If you want to drink—–that is your business,  if you want to quit——-that is our business
• Don’t compare—identify, don’t intellectualize—-utilize
• Stay away from the First Drink, Drug, Bet (apply your specific addiction here)
• Nothing is so bad, using won’t make it worse
• Most folks commit suicide with a knife and fork (Eating disorders)
• First we stayed sober because we have to… then we stay sober because we are willing to…. finally we stay sober because we want to…
• One drink is too many and thousand not enough
• Try not place conditions on your sobriety
• Bring the body and the mind will follow
• We all have another drunk left in us but we don’t know if we have another recovery in us

• Be as enthusiastic about recovery as you were about your addiction

Daily Living

• Be part of the solution, not part of the problem
• Use the 24-hour plan
• Live in the NOW
• Take the cotton out of your ears and put it in your mouth
• To keep it (recovery), you have to give it away
• What goes around, comes around
• Keep an open mind
• Do the next “right thing”
• If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere
• To thine own self be true
• There are two days in every week which we have no control over—-yesterday and tomorrow. today is the only day we can change.
• When wallowing in your self-pity …… get off the cross! We need the wood
• Learn a new dance – the old  “Cross – Pot Shuffle” is out of vogue
• Act as if………
• It is not the experience of today that drives people mad—-it is the remorse or bitterness for something which happened yesterday and the dread of what tomorrow may bring.
• Get it —give it—grow in it
• Every day is a gift that is why we call it the ‘present’
• Dry and tighten up (financially)
• Before engaging your mouth, put your mind in gear!
• Recovery is an education without a graduation
• Easy does it, but do it
• When all else fails, follow directions
• Addicts heal from the outside in………but feel from the inside out
• Stick with the winners
• Look after the Little Things
• Keep coming back……….it works if you work it
• Sobriety is a journey ……….not a destination
• We are only as sick as our secrets
• Share your happiness
• Share your pain
• Count your blessings
• We’re responsible for the effort – not the outcome!
• Sorrow is looking back, Worry is looking around
• Formula for failure: try to please everyone
• Humility is our acceptance of ourselves

Enjoy your Recovery

• Sober `n` crazy
• How does one become an “old-timer” ? Don’t drink or use and don’t die!
• We addict’s are ‘gifted’ people
• We don’t carry the alcoholic/ addict – we carry the message
• The 12 steps tell us how it works; the 12 traditions tell us why it works………
• Your 12 step program won’t ………..keep you from going to hell………….nor is it a ticket to heaven…………but it will………..keep u sober long enough………for you to make up your mind……………which way you want to go!
• The person with the most sobriety at a meeting is the one who got up earliest that morning
• Humility is not thinking less of yourself; It is thinking of yourself less.

Denial

• What if………
• Yeah but……
• If only …….
• Remember when…………
• Around recovery or “in” recovery?
• In action we got sympathy—–as long as our money lasted.
• Your 12 step program never opened the gates of heaven to let you in, It did open the gates of hell to let you out
• Danger sign: when your eyes have wandered from the alcoholic who still suffers and needs help—–to the faults of those whom the program has already helped!
• There are none too dumb for the 12 step program – but many are too smart
• I want what I want, when I want it
• Alcoholism is the only disease that tells you you’re all right
• The first step in overcoming mistakes is to admit them
• Knowledge of “the answers” never made anyone slip—it was failing to practice “the answers” that were known

Sponsorship

• Sponsors: have one—–use one—–be one
• When you are a sponsor, you get out of yourself
• If I serve, I will be served
• Call your sponsor
• Make use of the telephone therapy
• Call your sponsor before, not after, you take the first drink
• Help is only a phone call away
• There are no coincidences in recovery
• It works ——-it really does !
• Your Big Book is your sponsor too
• Willingness is the key
• More will be revealed
• Be nice to newcomers ………one day they may be your sponsor

• “You will intuitively know” AA Promises click here to read the AA Promises in full 
• You will be amazed
• 12 step programs are a school in which we are all learners and all teachers
• No pain………no gain
• You either is——-or you ain’t (clean)
• Some of us our sicker than others
• We’re all here because we’re not all there
• Alcoholism / addiction is an equal opportunity destroyer
• The road to sobriety is a simple journey for confused people with a complicated disease
• Pass it on
• You received without cost, now give without charge
• It’s in the book
• Before you say: I can’t …………say I’ll try
• Don’t quit 5 minutes before the miracle happens
• Practice an attitude of gratitude
• Another friend of Bill W’s ( Bill Wilson is the co-founder of AA )
• God will never give you more than you can handle
• Have a good day unless of course you have made other plans
• Decisions aren’t forever
• 90 meetings in 90 days………90/90
• Don’t drink, don’t think, read the Big Book, and go to meetings

Spirituality

• Spirituality is the ability to get our minds off ourselves
• Bend your knees before you bend your elbow
• GOD = God Orderly Direction
• Accept your admission and Get a new attitude
• There is no magic in recovery only miracles
• The road to disappointment is paved with expectation
• A “coincidence” is a miracle in which god chooses to remain anonymous
• It’s a pity we can’t forget our troubles the same way we forget our blessings
• We are not human beings having spiritual experiences; we are spiritual beings having human experiences
• If it isn’t God’s will …………I can’t make it happen
• If it is meant to be………..I can’t stop it
• Pain is the touchstone of spiritual growth
• Religion is for those who fear god………spirituality is for those who have been to hell and back
• You are exactly where God wants you to be
• To be forgiven – we must forgive
• Time wasted in getting even can never be used in getting ahead
• Be careful what you pray for; you’re liable to get it
• If you turn it over and don’t let go of it, you will be upside down.
• Serenity is not freedom from the storm but peace amid the storm
• Trying to pray is praying
• Sobriety delivers everything alcohol promised
• God taught us to laugh again but God please don’t let us forget that we once cried
• Faith is not belief without proof but trust without reservation

Meetings

• A 12 step meeting is where losers get together to talk about their winnings
• What you hear and see here, stays here!
• AA is the highest priced club in the world………if u have paid the dues, why not enjoy the benefits ?
• Chair a meeting
• Share your experience, strength and hope, not just your garbage
• Isolation is a killer, use your telephone list, come to an extra meeting, reach out and help the newcomer or struggling member.
• Each and every alcoholic / addict —-sober or not—-teaches us some valuable lessons about ourselves and recovery
• When you do all the talking you only learn what you already know
• Seven days without a meeting makes one WEAK
• AA has a wrench to fit every nut that walks through a meeting room door
• 12 step programs may not solve all your problems but are willing to share them
• The time to attend a meeting is when you least feel like going

AA Saying’s

• Don’t watch the “slippers” but watch those who don’t slip closely and watch them go through difficulties and pull through
• Work the program from the waist up
• Some people are so successful in AA that they turn out to be almost as good as they used to think they were when they were drinking.
• AA spoils your drinking!
• In AA we get understanding——for nothing!
• Anonymity is so important it’s half of our name
• Even my worst day in sobriety / clean is better than my best day drunk / using
• When all else fails………the directions are in the Big Book (Alcoholics Anonymous)
• If we don’t grow, we gotta go
• Read AA approved literature. Other books and materials, while they may be excellent, are usually only one individuals slant on a subject.
• All you need to start your own AA meeting is a resentment and a coffee pot!!
• Why recovery never ends: the disease is alcoholISm, not alcoholWASM!
• The AA way of life is meant to be bread for daily use, not cake for special occasions
• The smartest thing an AA member can say is, ” help me “
• It takes the good and bad AA meeting—-the good and bad AA talk —–to make the fellowship “work”
• 3 A’s in AA—-affection (thoughtfulness) —-attention (listening) —-appreciation (gratitude)
• Slippers in AA use the RDP–revolving door policy
• AA works for people who believe in God – AA works for people who don’t believe in God – AA NEVER works for people who believe they ARE God

Just For Today

Just for today I will try to live through this day only, and not tackle my whole life problems at once. I can do something for 12 hours that would appall me if I felt that I had to keep it up for a LIFETIME. AlAnon

The Tools Of Recovery

• 12 step Meetings – Attend at least one meeting a week
• Plan of Recovery – Draw up a schedule of daily recovery actions with your sponsors help
• Telephone – Use the telephone with other 12 step members to avoid Isolation and keep clean
• Sponsor – Get a sponsor and Be a sponsor
• Writing – Put things down on paper instead of letting them roll around in your head
• Service – Set up the meeting room, chair a meeting, clean up the room after the meeting, greet newcomers.
• Anonymity – Practice the non use of gossip to make yourself feel better
• Approved Literature – Read the approved 12 step literature

Higher Power Sayings

• I can’t ………He can……….I think I’ll let him (steps 1,2,3)
• If it works –  Don’t fix it
• Recovery is not something you join, it’s a way of life
• Expect miracles!
• God is never late
• Courage is faith that has said its prayers
• There is a god and I am not it
• Faith is a lighted doorway, trust is a darkened hall
• We had to quit playing god
• There are no atheists in foxholes
• Possibilities and miracles are one in the same
• The will of God will never take you where the grace of God will not protect you
• When we surrender to our higher power, the journey begins
• I came -I came to – I came to believe
• Faith without works is dead
• Get out of the driver’s seat…….let go and let god
• Fear is the absence of faith
• When man listens, God speaks; when man obeys, God works
• The task ahead of us is never as great as the power behind us
• If God seems far away, who moved ?
• If faith without works is dead; then ………willingness without action is fantasy
• Turn it over, the results are in god’s hand
• Willpower = our will-ingness to use a higher power
• Remember nothing is going to happen today that you and God can’t handle
• Man’s extremity is god’s opportunity
• AA = Altered Attitudes
• I can’t handle it God; you take over
• God answers “knee mails”
• Backsliding begins when knee-bending ends
• Spirituality is the ability to get our minds off ourselves
• There is no chemical solution to a spiritual problem
• Faith is our greatest gift; sharing it with others our greatest responsibility

 Overeaters Anonymous Slogans

• Put down the fork
• Nothing tastes as good as abstinence
• Abstinence is the most important thing in my life

The Addicts Paradoxes:

• From weakness (adversity) comes strength
• We forgive to be forgiven
• We suffer to get well
• We surrender to win
• We die to live
• From darkness comes light
• From dependence we found independence

Recovery Acronyms and Word Associations

• H.A.L.T. – hungry, angry, lonely, tired Stop everything and get back into recovery
• H.O.W – honesty, open-mindedness and willingness
• Kiss—keep it simple sweetie
• Anger is but one letter away from danger
• Fear is the darkroom where negatives are developed
• FEAR (f— everything and run)
• Faith is spelled ……………a-c-t-i-o-n
• We can be positive that our drinking was negative
• The 7t’s —take time to think the thing through
• EGO – Edge God Out
• The 3 T’s of gratitude to repay for our sobriety: our time, our talent, our treasure
• Keep your sobriety first, to make it last

• Fear stands for Frustration

Carry the Message

• The only thing we take from this world when we leave is what we gave away
• We give it away to keep it
• Trust god………clean house……..help others
• There are members who MAKE things happen there are members who WATCH things happen there are members who DON’T KNOW anything happen WHICH ARE YOU ?

 ***

Relationships

• Active alcoholics don’t have relationships; they take hostages
• “zipper slipper”
• There is a “slip” under every skirt – ( an oldie from the politically incorrect days of AA that still is important today)
• The lesson I must learn is simply that my control is limited to my own behavior, my own attitudes

Gamblers Anonymous Slogans

• Stay away from the first bet
• One day at a Time
• Don’t gamble for Today
• Get to Meetings
• Turn it Over

Wolf Parable

An elder Apache was teaching his grandchildren about life.

He said to them,”A fight is going on inside me; it is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One wolf represents fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, competition, superiority, and ego. The other stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person too.”

They thought about it for a minute and then one child asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The old Grandpa simply replied, “The one you feed.

The AA Promises

THE PROMISES

If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through.

• We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.
• We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace.
• No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others.
• That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear.
• We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows.
• Self-seeking will slip away.
• Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change.
• Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us.
• We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us.
• We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.

Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us—sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. The will always materialize if we work for them.

Reprinted from Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition p. 84

Serenity

• Respect the anonymity of others
• Try to replace guilt with gratitude
• Let go of old ideas
• Change is a process, not an event
• Take what you can use and leave the rest
• The price for serenity and sanity is self-sacrifice
• You can’t give away what you don’t have
• There are 12 steps in the ladder of complete sobriety

Working the Solution with Multiple and Addicts of all types

• 36 Years Personal Recovery Experience in several Self Help Programs
• Addiction Recovery Outreach Trustee, NW Region Webmaster, Newsletter Editor and contributor for various Recovery Associations Publications
• Published in several major recovery publications:  AA Grapevine, Al-Anon Forum, Overeaters Anonymous “Voices of Recovery” and “Lifeline”, Gamblers Anonymous “Bulletin” &”Toastmaster” Magazine 
• This AddictionZ.com website is featured in Melody Beattie’s current “Codependent no More Workbook”
• Over 45 years successful contracting business experience working with over 2000 employees and Penitentiary halfway house temporary staff.
• Sponsoring many recovering multiple addicts with long-term good results
• Recovery weekend workshop leader in Western Canada & US Pacific NW
• Author “You Can’t Unscrew Somebody Workbook” for relationship makeovers
• Author “Sex Inventory Workbook” for sex issues
• Author “Drunk Driving Workbook”  for safety
• Author “Breaking The Cycle of Gambling Addiction” arrest the money drain!
• Author “Breaking the Cycle of Compulsive Overeating” get healthy!

Here is a thought!
Why don’t you book your sober recovery style vacation with us in beautiful downtown Victoria BC Canada at our Gingerbread Cottage Bed and Breakfast. Over the years we have had lots of therapists, recovering addicts and health professionals stay at our idyllic B&B steps from the Salish Sea. Oh and we have gourmet breakfasts too! Vanessa makes a fantastic Austrian Apple Strudel! see more on our B&B website…

Please leave your comments below, and I will be sure to answer them. If you want one of the publications but truly cannot afford it leave a comment with your email address and I’ll send you a free one…

This website is about recovery – not making money – but it wouldn’t hurt to pay a few web hosting charges if you  decided to visit one of the sponsors ads… I have kept outside ads to a minimum so it’s not so frustrating to read. Hate those pages with an ad between every paragraph.

Have a great One Day at a Time! Dean 🙂