Fighting Addiction with Positive AffirmationsAlthough A.A. has undoubtedly helped many people get sober, I am not a big fan of Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous or any other anonymous group. Yes, they do have their virtues, but they're not for everyone. What I do like about A.A., N.A. and the other Anonymouses however, are some of their philosophies, including the 12 Steps, 12 Traditions and such.
Recently I came across something from A.A. that I'd never heard of before, called the 250 A.A. Slogans. They had been posted on Google Plus by a friend, who goes by the username, Bsober and Listen.
I never thought I would find even more slogans than he had come up with. I couldn't have imagined that someone could come up with 12 A.A. slogans, much less 250, but over 400, with most of them being really good? Wow!
Although Dr. Joseph Purch M.D. of Addiction Medicine & Psychiatry claims that AA slogans can harm recovery, even after reading his essay rationalizing his findings, I can see any harm in contemplating positive affirmations.
Apparently, some say number 1 through 5 are the standard AA slogans, while others say it's 1 through 9, like in the picture above. I don't know which is true, and I don't know where the rest came from, I just know they're pretty cool.
Little did I know that there was a legend of sorts that lead up toe the slogans, no matter if there are 5,9, 250 or 407 of them.
Birth of an A.A. Slogan
In 1935 Bill Wilson met Dr. Bob Smith, the founder of A.A., in Akron, Ohio. According to popular legend, Bill and Dr. Bob became good friends, getting close... closer than you may have imagined. At the time, Bill was still suffering from the physical ravages of alcohol, even though had already been sober for about 6 months. His problems included hemorrhoids, as well as a variety of urological problems including bladder infections and an enlarged prostate.
As luck would have it, or as some people would call it, "the Will of God," Dr. Bob's specialty was proctology. As a friend, Dr. Bob naturally examined Wilson's rectum pro bono. Wilson's behind was extremely tender, and as Dr. Bob inserted his finger, he cried, "Easy does it, Smithy!" According to legend, "Easy Does It" not only became a slogan, but also a sort of running inside joke between the founders. Bill loved to say it in Dr. Bob's presence because the Good Doctor would blush every time, without fail. It was Bill's way of having a little fun at the Doctor's expense. Gradually, the saying caught on with others. Today, "Easy Does It" is inscribed on plaques around the world in A.A. clubhouses. Few know that it came straight out of Bill's ass.Needless to say, Dr. Bob ended up giving Bill the treatment he needed, and "Easy Does It. But Do It!" has become quite popular in A.A.
So without trying to read too much into them, I'm going to list them bellow and let you figure out their meanings yourself.
The 407 Slogans of A.A.
1) Easy does it.2) First things first.3) Live and let live. 4) But for the grace of God.5) Think think think.6) One day at time.7) Let go and let God.8) K.I.S.S.---Keep It Simple Stupid.9) Act as if.10) This, too, shall pass.11) Expect miracles.12) I can't, He can, I think I'll let Him (Steps 1,2,3).13) If it works, don't fix it.14) Keep coming back, it works if you work it.15) Stick with the winners.16) Keep on trudgin.'17) Sobriety is a journey, not a destination.18) Faith without works is dead.19) Poor me, poor me, pour me another drink.20) To thine own self be true.21) I came; I came to; I came to believe (Steps 1,2,3). 22) Live in the NOW.23) If God seems far away, who moved?24) Turn it over.25) A.A.= Altered Attitudes26) Nothing is so bad, a drink won't make it worse.27) We are only as sick as our secrets.28) There are no coincidences in A.A..29) Be part of the solution, not the problem.30) Sponsors: have one use one be one.31) I can't handle it God; you take over.32) Keep an open mind.33) It works it really does! (page 88 in the Big Book)34) Willingness is the key.35) More will be revealed.36) You will intuitively know.37) You will be amazed.38) No pain, no gain.39) Go for it.40) Keep the plug in the jug.41) Do it sober.42) Let it begin with me.43) Just for today.44) Sober `n` crazy.45) Pass it on.46) It's in the book.47) You either are or you aren't.48) Before you say I can't, say I'll try.49) Don't quit before the miracle happens.50) Some of us our sicker than others.51) We're all here because we're not all there.52) Alcoholism is an equal opportunity destroyer.53) Practice an attitude of gratitude.54) The road to sobriety is a simple journey for confused people with a complicated disease.55) Another friend of Bill W.'s.56) God is never late.57) Have a good day, unless of course you have made other plans.58) Decisions aren't forever.59) It takes time.60) 90 meetings in 90 days.61) You are not alone.62) Where you go, there you are.63) Don't drink, read the Big Book, and go to meetings.64) Use the 24-hour plan.65) Make use of the telephone therapy.66) Stay sober for yourself.67) Look for the similarities rather than differences.68) Remember your last drunk.69) Remember that alcoholism is incurable, progressive, and fatal.70) Try not to place conditions on your sobriety.71) When all else fails, follow directions.72) Count your blessings.73) Share your happiness.74) Respect the anonymity of others.75) Share your pain.76) Let go of old ideas.77) Try to replace guilt with gratitude.78) What goes around, comes around.79) Change is a process, not an event.80) Take the cotton out of your ears and put it in your mouth.81) Call your sponsor before, not after, you take the first drink.82) Sick and tired of being sick and tired.83) It's the first drink that gets you drunk.84) To keep it, you have to give it away.85) Man's extremity is God's opportunity.86) The price for serenity and sanity is self-sacrifice.87) One alcoholic talking to another one equals one.88) Take what you can use and leave the rest.89) What if........90) Yeah but.........91) If only.........92) Help is only a phone call away.93) Around A.A. or in A.A.?94) You can't give away what you don't have.95) One drink is too many and thousand not enough.96) Half measures availed us nothing.97) Anger is but one letter away from danger.98) Courage to change.99) Easy does it, but DO it.100) Bring the body and the mind will follow.101) Accept your admission.102) Remember when!103) Tighten up (financially).104) We A.A.'s are 'gifted' people.105) There are 12 steps in the ladder of complete sobriety106) Fear is the darkroom where negatives are developed.107) Before engaging your mouth, put your mind in gear.108) I want what I want when I want it.109) There is no chemical solution to a spiritual problem.110) A.A. is not something you join, it's a way of life.111) We can be positive that our drinking was negative.112) Spirituality is the ability to get our minds off ourselves.113) Faith is spelled a-c-t-i-o-n.114) Take the mess to your sponsor, take the message to the meeting.115) If I think, I won't drink. If I drink, I can't think.116) Stay in the main tent, and out of the sideshow.117) The first step in overcoming mistakes is to admit them.118) Formula for failure: try to please everyone.119) Sorrow is looking back worry is looking around.120) Willpower=our willingness to use a Higher Power.121) A. A. is an education without graduation.122) When your head begins to swell your mind stops growing.123) A journey of a 1,000 miles begins with the first step.124) G.O.D.=Good Orderly Direction.125) Be as enthusiastic about A.A. as you were about your drinking.126) You received without cost, now give without charge.127) Humility is our acceptance of ourselves.128) Trying to pray is praying.129) Get it ---give it---grow in it.130) Faith is not belief without proof but trust without reservation.131) We're responsible for the effort not the outcome.132) This is a selfish program.133) E.G.O.=Edging God Out.134) Keep your sobriety first to make it last.135) I drank: too much---too often---too long.136) A.A. will work if you want it to work.137) Minds are like parachutes----they won't work unless they're open.138) What you hear and see here, stays here.139) Alcoholism is the only disease that tells you you're all right.140) If you turn it over and don't let go of it, you will be upside down.141) An A.A. meeting is where losers get together to talk about their winnings.142) A.A. is a school in which we are all learners and all teachers.143) God taught us to laugh again but God please don't let us forget that we once cried.144) Serenity is not freedom from the storm but peace amid the storm.145) A.A. may not solve all your problems but it is willing to share them.146) It isn't the load that weighs us down------it's the way we carry it.147) Principles before personalities148) When you do all the talking you only learn what you already know.149) The 7t's ---Take Time to Think The Thing Through.150) There are none too dumb for the A.A. program but many are too smart.151) We all have another drunk left in us but we don't know if we have another recovery in us.152) To be forgiven we must forgive.153) When we surrender to our Higher Power, the journey begins.154) The person with the most sobriety at a meeting is the one who got up earliest that morning.155) Knowledge of the answers never made anyone slip---it was failing to practice the answers known.156) H.A.L.T.=Don't get too Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired.157) F.E.A.R.=Frustration, Ego, Anxiety, Resentment.158) The 12 Steps tell us how it works; the 12 Traditions tell us why it works.159) Without A.A., it's Amen. 160) If faith without works is dead; then willingness without action is fantasy.161) When a person tries to control their drinking they have already lost control.162) The task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us.163) Seven days without an A.A. meeting makes one weak.164) You are not required to like it, you're only required to DO it.165) When wallowing in your self-pity, get off the cross, we need the wood.166) In A.A. we don't carry the alcoholic; we carry the message.167) The results are in God's hands.168) We are not human beings having spiritual experiences; we are spiritual beings having human experiences.169) Remember nothing is going to happen today that you and God can't handle.170) Your Turn in the barrell.171) Don't watch the slippers, watch those who don't slip...watch them go through difficulties and pull through.172) If we knew which drink was going to cause wet brain; we would stop just before it.173) It's a shame we can't forget our troubles the same way we forget our blessings.174) Be careful what you pray for; you're liable to get it.175) The time to attend a meeting is when you least feel like going.176) I've been sober and I've been drunk. Sober's better.177) A.A. is the highest priced club in the world. If you have paid the dues, why not enjoy the benefits?178) The first step is the only step a person can work perfectly.179) The will of God will never take you where the grace of God will not protect you.180) Your Big Book is your sponsor too.181) A.A. never opened the gates of heaven to let me in, A.A. did open the gates of hell to let me out.182) The only thing we take from this world when we leave is what we gave away.183) Time wasted in getting even can never be used in getting ahead.184) Some A.A.'s are so successful that they turn out to be almost as good as they used to think they were when they were drinking.185) Sobriety delivers everything alcohol promised.186) Possibilities and miracles are one in the same.187) Get out of the driver's seat and let God.188) H.O.W.=Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness.189) Taking others inventory (when you should be taking your own).190) First we stayed sober because we have to...then we stay sober because we are willing to...then we stay soberbecause we want to.191) Slogans are wisdom written in shorthand.192) Active alcoholics don't have relationships; they take hostages.193) Everyday is a gift that's why we call it the present.194) If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere.195) Every recovery from alcoholism began with one sober hour.196) Each and every alcoholic, sober or not, teaches us valuable lessons about ourselves and recovery.197) We had to quit playing God.198) Don't compare---identify.199) Don't intellectualize----utilize.200) RULE 62: don't take yourself seriously.201) A.A. has a wrench to fit every nut that walks through the door.202) Living in the here and now.203) How does one become an old-timer? Don't drink and don't die.204) A.A. spoils your drinking205) Faith is our greatest gift; its sharing with others our greatest responsibility.206) If you want to drink, that is your business...if you want to quit and can't, that is A.A.'s business.207) In a bar, we got sympathy-----as long as our money lasted. In A.A., we get understanding for nothing.208) My worst day in sobriety is better than my best day drunk.209) The elevator is broken-------use the Steps.210) Let it begin with me.211) When all else fails, the directions are in the Big Book.212) Trust God, clean house, help others.213) Anonymity is so important it's half of our name.214) If we don't grow, we gotta go.215) All you need to start your own A.A. meeting is a resentment and a coffee pot.216) Religion is for those who fear Hell, spirituality is for those who have been there.217) Intolerance= Contempt, prior to investigation.218) When you are a sponsor, you get out of yourself. If I serve, I will be served.219) Why recovery never ends: the disease is alcoholism, not alcoholWASm.220) The A.A. way of life is meant to be bread for daily use, not cake for special occasions.221) The smartest thing an A.A. member can say is, help.222) You are exactly where you are supposed to be.223) God will never give you more than you can handle.224) Slow but sure.225) A coincidence is a miracle in which God chooses to remain anonymous.226) There is no such thing, as a bad meeting.227) Give time time.228) I can do something for 24 hours that would appall me if I had to keep it up for a LIFETIME.229) The lesson I must learn is simply that my control is limited to my own behavior, my own attitudes.230) A.A. works for people who believe in God. A.A. works for people who don't believe in God. A.A. NEVER works for people who believe they ARE God.231) Just for today I will try to live through this day only, and not tackle my whole life problems at once. 232) There are two days in every week which we have no control over----yesterday and tomorrow. Today is the only day we can change.233) It is not the experience of today that drives people mad, it is remorse of yesterday and the dread of tomorrow.234) A drug is a drug.235) Pain is the touchstone of spiritual growth.236) God has no grand kids.237) There is a God and I'm not it.238) The road to resentment is paved with expectation.239) Be nice to newcomers one day they may be your sponsor.240) Denial is not a river in Egypt, but you can drown in it.241) Guilt is the gift that keeps on giving.242) The flip side to forgiveness is resentments.243) There is no magic in recovery only miracles.244) Fear is the absences of faith.245) Courage is faith that has said its prayers.246) Depression is anger toward inward.247) Alcoholics heal from the outside in, but feel from the inside out.248) 3 A's in A.A.-----affection/attention/appreciation249) If it is meant to be, I can't stop it. If it isn't God's will, I can't make it happen.250) There are A.A. members who make things happen there are A.A. members who watch things happen there are A.A. members who DON'T KNOW anything happened251) Don't drink, don't think and go to meetings.252) A.A. is the last stop on the train.253) One is too many, a thousand is not enough.254) To be of maximum service to others.255) We'll love you, until you learn to love yourself.256) When you run out of quarters for your a--kicking machine, I've got an extra roll for you to use.257) Try to be grateful and resentful at the same time, you can't serve two masters.258) Write a gratitude list and count your blessings.259) You can always tell an alcoholic, but you can't tell him much.260) Faith chases away fear.261) Take other people's inventory until you can take your own.262) Pain before sobriety and pain before serenity.263) Unity, recovery, and service.264) If you want to hide something from an alcoholic, hide it in the Big Book, because that's where he'll find it.265) Sobriety, then serenity.266) Live life on life's terms.267) She came through the back door of A.A. (Alanon).268) When we couldn't dominate, control, or manipulate, we would ask for terms and conditions.269) People who are wrapped up in themselves make a very small package indeed...270) The bottle, big house, or the box.271) Death, insanity, or recovery.272) We have a choice.273) We don't get run over by the train, we get hit by the engine (1st. drink).274) If you wonder if you're an alcoholic, you probably are.275) Instant a--hole, just add alcohol.276) I didn't get into trouble every time I drank, but every time I got in trouble I was drunk.277) Insanity is defined as doing the same thing over, and over again, expecting different results.278) We are without defense against the first drink, our defense must come from a power greater than ourselves.279) Success means getting your BUT out of the way.280) Newcomer is someone with less than five years sobriety.281) The easier softer way is one through twelve.282) Don't work my program, or your program, work THE program.283) If you want what we have and you're willing to go to any lengths to get it284) Ask us how we did it, then do what we did.285) Qualifications for me to help you, one) you have to need it, two) you have to want it, three) you have to ask for it, four) you have to ask me.286) The alcoholic's mind is like a bad neighborhood, don't go there alone.287) Faith without works is dead.288) Get to the meeting early and go to the meeting after the meeting.289) The definition of an alcoholic; an egomaniac with an inferiority complex.290) Cunning, baffling, powerful, and patient.291) When the pain of staying sober becomes less than the pain of getting drunk, you'll stay sober.292) None of us came here on a winning streak.293) The farther I get from my last drink, the closer I get to my next drunk.294) This, too, shall pass.295) Where do I find sobriety? Twelve steps past any lengths.296) How does it work? It works just fine.297) If you hang around the barber shop long enough, you'll get a haircut.298) Don't hang around wet places and wet faces.299) Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic.300) I might have another drunk left in me, but do I have another recovery?301) Short version of the Serenity Prayer: Lighten up.302) You don't have to wait till the basement to get off the down elevator.303) Those that don't go to meetings aren't present to find out what happen to them what doesn't go to meetings.304) F.E.A.R.= False Evidence Appearing Real.305) F.E.A.R.=False Expectations Appearing Real.306) F.E.A.R=Face Everything and Recover.307) F.E.A.R.=F--- Everything And Run.308) F.I.N.E.=F--ked-up, insecure, neurotic, and emotional309) G.O.D.=Group of Drunks.310) In A.A. I get an owner's manual to go with my new life.311) N.U.T.S.=Not Using the Steps312) Y.E.T.=You eventually, too313) When you sober up a horse thief, all you have is a sober horse thief.314) First things first315) If you can't remember your last drink, maybe you haven't had it.316) If you want to stay sober, make the coffee.317) If you fly with crows, you get shot at.318) Analysis is paralysis.31) A.A. isn't a religion, we can't open the gates of Heaven and let you in, but we can open the gates of Hell and let you out.320) I got sick of being sick and tired.321) It's easy to talk the talk, but you have to walk the walk.322) Life starts when you stop.323) You have to give it away in order to keep it.324) Fake it till you make it.325) It's a selfish program.326) Today there's still a monkey on my back. He's just sleeping. He's real easy to wake up.327) Fear alone won't keep me sober, but for a newcomer, it's not a bad place to start.328) I've been here a few 24 hours.329) H.I.T.-Hang In There.330) Under every dress there's a slip331) You have to go to these meetings until you want to.332) Don't let unpleasant people rent space in your head.333) Daniel didn't go back to the lion's den to get his hat.334) If you stick with the bunch, you'll get peeled.335) It gets better.336) The doors swing both ways.337) You have to put in the time.338) Try it for 90 days, and if you don't like it, we'll gladly refund your misery.339) Don't drink, don't think, and don't get married.340) Some people drink normally, and I normally drink.341) A slip is a premeditated drunk.342) A.A. is the easier, softer way.343) Go to meetings when you want to, and go to meetings when you don’t want to.344) It's been a good meeting so far.345) None of us got here form drinking too much coffee.346) We have a disease that tells us we don't have a disease.347) We have a living problem, not a drinking problem.348) We have a thinking problem, not a drinking problem.349) If you don't want to slip, stay away from slippery places.350) The mind is like a parachute, it works better when it's open351) Pain is the touchstone of progress.352) My daily sobriety is contingent on my spiritual condition.353) Yesterday is a cancelled check, tomorrow is a promissory note, only today is cash in the bank.354) F.A.I.T.H.: Fantastic Adventure in Trusting Him.355) Sorrow shared is halved; joy shared is doubled.356) There is pain in recovery. Misery is optional.357) Lead us not into temptation. I can find it myself.358) A treatment center is where you go and pay $15,000 to find out that A.A. meetings are free.359) Ask an alcoholic what time it is and he'll tell you how to build a clock.360) Please be patient---God isn't finished with me yet.361) I am unique, just like everybody else.362) Reality is for people who can't handle drugs.363) My best friend became my worst enemy.364) When my insides match my outside, I'm practicing a good program.365) Today I soak up A.A. the way I used to soak up alcohol.366) When I drank, I was committing suicide on the installment plan.367) My Higher Power was: To Whom It May Concern.368) My first Higher Power was Howard, as in Our Father, who art in Heaven, Howard be thy name.369) I'll always have another drunk in me, but I'm not sure I'll have another recovery.370) Chairman at meeting asks: Anybody from out of town? Out of state? Out of their minds?371) A winner is a loser who keeps trying.372) I don't always know what God's will is for me, but I always know what it's not.373) I didn't get sober to be miserable.374) I didn't experiment with alcohol and drugs. I was in advanced research and development.375) Are you walking towards a drink or away from one?376) God could and would if He were sought.377) I love you, God loves you, and there's nothing you can do about it.378) Today I have more solutions than problems.379) If God is your co-pilot, switch seats.380) I did my drinking from Park Avenue to park bench.381) Don't go in your head alone. It's a dangerous neighborhood.382) With a stomach full of A.A., you won't have room for a beer.383) Listen like only the dying can.384) If your ass falls off, put it in a paper bag and take it to a meeting.385) There's safety in numbers. One through twelve.386) An ounce of prevention is worth a gallon of relapse.387) My disease is doing pushups, getting stronger--just waiting for me to slip.388) A.A. is a simple program for complicated people.389) My best thinking got me here.390) I am a walking miracle.391) Don't romance the drink.392) When I start wondering if everything's okay, it's probably not.393) If hanging around A.A. doesn't work, try hanging out inside A.A.394) Before I got into A.A., I was dying for a drink.395) God grant me patience. Right now.396) My sponsor says I'm trying. Very trying.397) 20/20: Come 20 minutes before the meeting, stay 20 minutes after.398) Don't try to clear away the wreckage of the future.399) When the student is ready, the teacher appears.400) You can't speed up your recovery, but you sure can slow it down.401) Every drink I drank got me here. Every drink I don't drink keeps me here.402) It takes time to get your brains out of hock.403) Stand by the coffee pots. It's a good way to meet people.404) People who think they know it all are very irritating to those of us who do.405) It don`t matter how your jackass got in a ditch, just get him out.406) Don't drink or use between breaths.407) Always remember the insanity...Be thankful for the pain...But most of all be thankful for the days that
Well, that's the 407 Slogans of Alcoholics Anonymous. Pretty cool, huh? Well, as a bonus, I will include for you The A.A. Pradoxes as well.
The 8 Paradoxes of A.A.
1) From weakness(adversity)comes strength2) We forgive to be forgiven.3) We give it away to keep it.4) We suffer to get well.5) We surrender to win.6) We die to live.7) From darkness comes light.8) From dependence we found independence.
The 12 Traditions of A.A.
1) Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity.2) For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority - a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.3) The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking.4) Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole.5) Each group has but one primary purpose - to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.6) An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.7) Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.8) Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers.9) A.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.10) Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy.11) Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio and films.12) Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.
The 12 Steps of A.A
1) We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become unmanageable.
2) Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3) Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understood Him.
4) Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5) Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6) Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7) Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8) Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9) Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10) Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11) Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12) Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
Well, that about all the slogans, steps, paradoxes and whatever I could find, but let's hope that's enough to get us started.
Ain't sobriety great!!!???!!!
Written By: Tom Retterbush
Narcotics Anonymous Collection: Basic Text, Sixth Edition; It Works - How and Why; and Just For Today, Revised
Basic Text, Sixth Edition First published in 1983, NA's primary book was revised in 2009 to incorporate new personal stories in the Sixth Edition. "Our Program" contains ten chapters explaining the NA Fellowship and our program of recovery. "Our Members Share" includespersonal stories from NA members worldwide, organized.
Get the NA Collection directly from Amazon, HERE
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