Recovery Quotes

Recovery is not for those who need it, it's for those who want it.

For recovery from anything, we need to give up the hope of a better past.

The clouds of discouragement and suffering only temporarily veil the sunlight.

Change comes from practicing something different.

What you think about yourself is far more important than what others think of you.

The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The 2nd best time is today.

Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars. (Kahlil Gibran)

Honesty heals... secrecy kills

Pain is the touchstone of all spiritual progress.

Sponsee: "How long do I have to keep coming to these meetings?!" Sponsor: "Only until you want to come to these meetings"

Acceptance is mandatory - understanding is optional.

The truth will not die because I bury it

What is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads. (Albert Camus)

Don't believe everything you think.

Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes (Carl Jung)

Action precedes motivation

I don't have to see the entire staircase to take the first step

Meetings = Relief... Step Work = Recovery

Don't look where you fell, look where you slipped.

Nothing to hide, nothing to prove, nothing to lose

I must remember that I am no greater than... and no less than

Our history is not our destiny.

We can't change the past, but we can ruin the present worrying about the future.

The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.

Every saint has a past & every sinner has a future

Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self. Therefore, trust the physician and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility. (Kahlil Gibran)

An unexamined life is not worth living. (Socrates)

We can be of no value to another until we are first of value to ourselves.

There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance – that principle is contempt prior to investigation. (Herbert Spencer)

If I don't allow myself to feel my feelings, I will act them out.

It's never too late to become what I might have been.

You were loved for being good, and you needed to be loved for being you.

Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived out to be understood.

What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition.

To see miracles happen, we have to let go of expectations

We need not ask God for the grace to see what lies ahead, but for the grace to accept whatever comes.

What I put into my heart today will influence my character tomorrow.

Whatever emotional state we are in is never wrong - it is what it is.

My time is my own, but I have choices to make.

Comfort doesn't come with changing the circumstances of our lives, but by changing our attitudes toward our circumstances.

Humility just means you are still teachable.

Lots of my friends were in need this year due to health, addiction, family matters, job loss etc. Sometimes you have to reach out to them first because they have no idea how to reach out at all.

Any neurosis is the avoidance of experiencing the legitimate pain.

Let go of "happy" and think more in terms of healthy. Living healthy produces good things in general, yet some days still suck and are depressing - that's the way it goes - we survive those days. Don't chase the butterfly called "happy" - that butterfly will land on your shoulder every so often, but not because you chased it, but because you are living healthy, doing your best, and putting yourself in the position to let that butterfly land every so often. The more time spent worrying and wallowing in the lack of "happy" translates into fewer opportunities for the butterfly to land. Remember, we don't control the butterfly.

As long as we don't give up, we are making progress.

When the gates are all down & the signals are flashing, the whistle is screaming in vain, you stay on the tracks, ignoring the facts, you can't blame the wreck on the train.

Whatever has my attention, has me.

Character is actually a victory not a gift.

Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace amid the storm.

Every day is about turning your misery into your ministry.

We don't have to like the situation, we do have to take care of ourselves in it.

Patience with others is love, patience with self is hope, patience with God is faith.

God does not comfort us to make us comfortable, but to make us comforters.

Fear is a place where I can practice trust.

Contentment is all about knowing who is really in charge of our future.

Step Nine Promises
1. If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through.
2. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness.
3. We will not regret the past, nor wish to shut the door on it.
4. We will comprehend the word serenity, and we will know peace.
5. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others.
6. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear.
7. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows.
8. Self-seeking will slip away.
9. Our whole attitude and outlook on life with change.
10. Fear of people and economic insecurity will leave us.
11. We will intuitively know how to handle situations that used to baffle us.
12. 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. BIG BOOK p 83-84