Step by Step - May 15 2026

Today, I will not immerse myself so deeply into service or 12th-Step work that I neglect my own basic needs: to put into anything the passion I spent on drinking, I will predictably suffer the same outcome of physical, emotional and spiritual bankruptcy. While we are called and even commanded by the 12th Step to commit ourselves to service, the quality of that service will be negligible if I have not stored and reserved enough of myself to offer something worth giving. Today, I will guard against becoming too hungry, angry, lonely and tired – HALT – to assure that I can be the best of what the 12th Step asks of us – to be an effective carrier of the message. Today, I will listen to the message again. And our common journey continues. 

Step by step. – Chris M.

A.A. Recovery Speaker Roy - T. - Slogans That Might Kill You

Daily Reflections - September 25th 2025

FIRST THINGS FIRST

Some of us have taken very hard knocks to learn this truth: Job or no job — wife or no wife — we simply do not stop drinking so long as we place dependence upon other people ahead of dependence on God. 

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 98

Before coming to A.A., I always had excuses for taking a drink: “She said . . . , ” “He said . . . ,” “I got fired yesterday,” “I got a great job today.” No area of my life could be good if I drank again. In sobriety my life gets better each day. I must always remember not to drink, to trust God, and to stay active in A.A. Am I putting anything before my sobriety, God, and A.A. today?

A DAY AT A TIME #essentialsofrecovery

Reflection for the Day

The longer I’m in the Program, the more important becomes the slogan “First Things First.” I used to believe that my family came first, that my home life came first, that my job came first. But I know today, in the depths of my heart, that if I can’t stay sober, I’ll have nothing. “First Things First,” to me, means that everything in my life depends on my sobriety. Am I grateful to be sober today?

Today I Pray

May my first priority, the topmost item on my list of concerns, be my sobriety—maintaining it, learning to live comfortably with it, sharing the tools by which I maintain it. When other things crowd into my life and I am caught up in the busyness of living, may I still preserve that first-of-all goal—remaining free of chemicals.

Today I Will Remember

First Things First.

© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation 

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FIRST THINGS FIRST

Order

The struggle to bring order into our lives starts with lots of little things. One recovering per-son discovered that it was a good exercise simply to put the cap back on the toothpaste tube in the morning. This was a reminder that things should be put in their proper place, and the discipline helped later in organizing larger matters.

It is very easy to overlook orderly procedures in the haste to get things done, or to avoid anything that seems unpleasant or demanding. But such oversight always carries a heavy price later on. When we don’t return things to their proper place, for example, we lose them or waste hours looking for them. We may bungle a job simply because we were too lazy to look up the right information or to read directions.

That’s why “First things first” is much more than just a slogan. It’s actually a principle for living, a guide that tells us there is an orderly approach to everything. If we can find that order without becoming slavishly compulsive about it, we’ll find that it simplifies lots of things later on.

I’ll try to do things in an orderly manner today. When I find myself taking short cuts or becoming too hurried, I’ll regain control by remembering to establish priorities.

© 1996 by Hazelden Foundation 

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KEEP IT SIMPLE #essentialsofrecovery

Let Go and Let God.

~ Twelve Step slogan ~

Some days we might ask ourselves, Is it worth it? We feel alone. No one seems to care. Life seems hard. Recovery seems hard.

This is when we need to slow down and take a look at what’s going on. We’re feeling this way because we’re off our recovery path. We may be back into wanting people to see things our way, or do things our way. We want control.

Remember, all problems are not our problems. All work is not our work. We can’t have everything the way we want it. But we can do our part and let go of the rest. Then we can feel better.

Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, help me remember my only work today is to do Your will for me. It is not my job to be You.

Action for the Day

I’ll talk with my sponsor or a program friend today. I’ll talk about how to deal with things that seem to pull me down.

Copyright © 1988 by Hazelden Foundation 

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A Day At A Time #essentialsofrec

Reflection For The Day

The slogans of The Program are seemngly clear adn simple.  Yet they may still have different meanings for different people, according to their own experience and reaction to the words and ideas.  Take, for example, the slogan Let Go and Let God.  For some people, it may suggest that all we have to do is sidestep teh challenges that confront us and , somehow, God will do all the work.  We must remember that God gives us free will, intelligence and good senses — it is clearly His intention that we use these gifts.  If I’m receptive, God will make His will known to me step by step, but I must carry it out.  Do I sometimes act as if surrender to God’s will is a passport to inertia?

Today I Pray

May my “passport” be stamped with “action.”  May my travels be motivated by challenges I can readily recognize as things to do, not things to watch.  I pray that I may make the most of my gifts from God, of talents that I am aware of and some I have yet to discover.  May I not “let go” and give up but keep on learning, growing, doing, serving, praying, carrying out the will of God as I understand It.

Today I Will Remember

God meant me to make the most of myself. 

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Father Leo’s Daily Meditation #essentialsofrec #Slogans #Laughter #Recovery

LAUGHTER

“God cannot be solemn, or he would not have blessed man with the incalculable gift of laughter.”

–Sydney Harris

I think the way to understand God is to begin to understand man!  Sometimes we forget that we bear the “image” of God – and this is not so much physical as emotional, our inner selves, the soul. So much of what I feel, what hurts me, what causes me distress and pain I believe also affects God. Also the gifts, the creative intelligence and spiritual sacrifice that has characterized so many people in history reflects something of God. Involved in this is “laughter”. I believe that laughter is derived from God and is part of the spiritual gift He has bequeathed to every one of us: we need only discover it.

“Let go – and let God.” Sometimes we need to get out of our own way so that we can begin to laugh.

You gave the gift of laughter to be used. May it be used in the precious art of healing. 

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Walk in Dry Places #essentialsofrec #Simple #Recovery

Keep it Simple, BUT not simple-minded
Working the Steps.

Dr. Bob Smith left little in the way of written material for AA’s future. His phrase “Keep it Simple,” however, is now a guiding slogan in the program. What did he really have in mind with this final piece of advice?

We can take it as certain that Dr. Bob…. A highly intelligent man… was not saying that we shouldn’t use our heads for real thinking and study. One of the blessings of sobriety, in fact, should be the ability to think clearly and effectively. It would be a mistake to believe that one must renounce a brainpower and education in order to stay sober.

The real aim of “keeping it simple” should be to stay mindful of the principles and essentials that are key to everybody else. Even the most difficult subject can usually be mattered by processes of simplification. The deepest book, for example, is still composed of only twenty-six letters.

We can “Keep it Simple” by building or lives around the principles of the Twelve Step program. When we discover new ideas, they’ll reinforce and expand what we’ve already learned. In this way, we should always be learning and growing… which is beautiful simple, but certainly not simple-minded.

I’ll be grateful today for the ability to think and to understand complicated subjects. With a strong foundation in the bedrock principles of AA, I can use my mind in constructive and progressive ways.

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EASY DOES IT #essentialsofrec #progress #recovery

“ALMOST” PEOPLE

If a man has a talent and cannot use it, he has failed. If he has a talent and uses only half of it, he has partly failed.

~ Thomas Wolfe ~

Every step of progress that we make in our Program takes us farther away from being one of the “almost” people. We know today that we cannot settle for “almost” living up to our potentials and capabilities.

We used to think that near-misses meant coming close to victory. This was satisfying, we thought. But we actually were making sure our efforts always got worse, never better.

In recovery, we see the wisdom of “half measures availing us nothing.” Today when we miss, we learn from a “near success” and try again, harder.

Even the slogan “Easy Does It” can encourage me to see worth in almost-good efforts, but I must quickly add to that “But DO It!”

©1990 by Anonymous. All rights reserved. Published by Hazelden®.

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WALK IN DRY PLACES #essentialsofrec #Journey #Sobriety

A JOURNEY, NOT A DESTINATION

How It Works

“Now that you’re sober, why do you stay in AA?” AA members frequently hear this from others not familiar with the fellowship, but it’s understandable. They see AA as a place where one goes to be “cured,” whereas we learn to see it as an ongoing recovery process that is never really completed.

Sobriety is not an object that one can acquire and then put on a shelf somewhere or on the wall like a diploma. It is more of a journey in living, with each day’s march being a goal in itself.

You could also say that sobriety is like the “manna from heaven” described in the Old Testament. Fresh manna arrived each day, but could not be saved for the future. It is the same with us. Today’s experience in sobriety is what sustains us, and we’re in trouble if we’re trying to depend on what was accomplished in the past.

Though we do use the term permanent sobriety, we never truly possess it. Our quest for sobriety is a lifetime journey.

I’ll be on guard against any feeling of “having it made.” Sure, past success should be helpful in maintaining today’s sobriety. But the quality of today’s sobriety will depend only on today’s thinking and behavior.

© 1996 by Hazelden Foundation

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ONE DAY AT A TIME

Time ripens all things. No man’s born wise.

~ Cervantes ~

We come to understand time in a different way. Each day we discover there is an order to life that is only revealed day-to-day. The moments when life forces us to reconsider our schedule are no longer met with anger and frustration. We begin to trust our Higher Power to actually dictate what will happen in our lives. We find ourselves staying close to people who developed some measure of humility, for they seem to have a better sense of timing.

We remember the times when we demanded, “I want what I want when I want it.” The funny thing was, we were usually disappointed when we got what we wanted.

We are even finding a new appreciation for the seasons of the year, and for our lives. We find ourselves enjoying winter just as much as summer, our old age as much as our youth. Each new day deposits within us new wisdom.

Today I will remember that rather than fighting time, I will become time’s passenger.

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A DAY AT A TIME #essentialsofrec #EasydoesIt #Slogans

Reflection for the Day

All of us are faced with the troubles and problems of daily living, whether we've been in the Program two days or twenty years. We’d sometimes like to believe we could take care of all our problems right now, but it rarely works that way. If we remember the slogan “Easy Does It” when we are ready to panic, we may come to know that the very best way to handle all things is “Easy.” We put one foot in front of the other, doing the best we are capable of doing. We say “Easy Does It,” and we do it. Are the Program’s slogans growing with me as I grow with the Program?

Today I Pray

May even the words “Easy Does It” serve to slow me down in my headlong rush to accomplish too much too fast. May just that word “Easy” be enough to make me ease up on the accelerator which plunges me into new situations without enough forethought, ease off on the number of hours spent in material pursuits. May I hark to the adage that Rome wasn’t built in a single day. Neither can I build solutions to my problems all at once.

Today I Will Remember

Easy Does It.

© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation

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LET GO AND LET GOD

Guidance

Though it came from outside AA, the idea of “letting go and letting God” has taken root in the fellowship. The trouble comes when we try to decide what it really means. We obviously need to continue working and we still have to make important decisions. So how do we let God take charge?

Surrendering to God’s will is a shift that takes place in our attitude. We take whatever actions seem reasonable and proper according to our view of things. We remember, however, that a better plan may be unfolding in every situation. In many cases, it can even be a case of wanting too little rather than too much. One member, for example, sought guidance in a business decision. He was disappointed when the deal fell through, but dis-covered, only a few weeks later, an even better opportunity that worked out perfectly.

“Letting God” is really a form of working Step Eleven—seeking “knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.” As we do that, our lives must become enriched and improved in every way.

I’ll approach the day with the idea that God is working it out for the highest good of everybody. Temporary setbacks won’t bother me if I know that God’s plan is unfolding in my life.

© 1996 by Hazelden Foundation

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WALK IN DRY PLACES #essentialsofrec Prudence #Thinking

THINK, THINK, THINK

Prudence
It’s hard to believe, but some AA members insist that newcomers shouldn’t think. “Whoever said you should think?” some members are told. The newcomer is apparently supposed to suspend all thinking for several months until reaching a certain level of recovery.

This is nonsense, and it also contradicts AA teaching. If we don’t want people to use their heads, why do we have printed cards on meeting room walls that say, “Think, Think, Think”? We are always capable of thinking, even in moments of deep despair. Indeed, we could not keep from thinking.

A constructive approach to thinking is to form complete sentences from the slogan on the wall: Think what might happen if I take one drink. Think of the wonderful new life that awaits me in sobriety. Think about ways of improving myself and fol-lowing a more satisfactory lifestyle.
It’s also important to remember that good thinking will drive out bad thinking—but good thinking has to be cultivated.

I’ll keep my thinking centered today on the good things that can be done in life. I’ll focus my attention only on matters that are under my control, and I know that better thinking will bring better conditions.

© 1996 by Hazelden Foundation

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A DAY AT A TIME #essentialsofrec #Slogans #Recovery

Reflection for the Day

The longer I’m in the Program, the more important becomes the slogan “First Things First.” I used to believe that my family came first, that my home life came first, that my job came first. But I know today, in the depths of my heart, that if I can’t stay sober, I’ll have nothing. “First Things First,” to me, means that everything in my life depends on my sobriety. Am I grateful to be sober today?

Today I Pray

May my first priority, the topmost item on my list of concerns, be my sobriety—maintaining it, learning to live comfortably with it, sharing the tools by which I maintain it. When other things crowd into my life and I am caught up in the busyness of living, may I still preserve that first-of-all goal—remaining free of chemicals.

Today I Will Remember

First Things First.

© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation

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EASY DOES IT #essentialsofrec #recovery #Procastination

PROCRASTINATION

Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.

~ Don Marquis ~

We were constant procrastinators before we began our 12 Step Program. Addiction created the habit of delay because, as long as we had our substance, everything else could wait.

Now we know that action truly is the magic word. The slogan “Easy Does It” doesn’t mean to put things off. It means to do it, but do it in God’s good time. Slow growth doesn’t mean postponement.

We can’t put off airing problems to other people for fear of being ridiculed. We need answers early during our progress. When we attempt to ask for solutions, we can be clear and direct in our questions. We know our friends will always give us the right to be wrong and quickly correct faulty thinking.

I can solve problems just by “pressing on.” Procrastination is not living one day at a time. I will do today what I am meant to do today.

©1990 by Anonymous. All rights reserved. Published by Hazelden.

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FIRST THINGS FIRST

Order

The struggle to bring order into our lives starts with lots of little things. One recovering per-son discovered that it was a good exercise simply to put the cap back on the toothpaste tube in the morning. This was a reminder that things should be put in their proper place, and the discipline helped later in organizing larger matters.

It is very easy to overlook orderly procedures in the haste to get things done, or to avoid anything that seems unpleasant or demanding. But such oversight always carries a heavy price later on. When we don’t return things to their proper place, for example, we lose them or waste hours looking for them. We may bungle a job simply because we were too lazy to look up the right information or to read directions.

That’s why “First things first” is much more than just a slogan. It’s actually a principle for living, a guide that tells us there is an orderly approach to everything. If we can find that order without becoming slavishly compulsive about it, we’ll find that it simplifies lots of things later on.

I’ll try to do things in an orderly manner today. When I find myself taking short cuts or becoming too hurried, I’ll regain control by remembering to establish priorities.

© 1996 by Hazelden Foundation

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KEEP IT SIMPLE #essentialsofrec #LetingGo #Slogan #Recovery

Let Go and Let God.

~ Twelve Step slogan ~

Some days we might ask ourselves, Is it worth it? We feel alone. No one seems to care. Life seems hard. Recovery seems hard.

This is when we need to slow down and take a look at what’s going on. We’re feeling this way because we’re off our recovery path. We may be back into wanting people to see things our way, or do things our way. We want control.

Remember, all problems are not our problems. All work is not our work. We can’t have everything the way we want it. But we can do our part and let go of the rest. Then we can feel better.

Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, help me remember my only work today is to do Your will for me. It is not my job to be You.

Action for the Day

I’ll talk with my sponsor or a program friend today. I’ll talk about how to deal with things that seem to pull me down.

Copyright © 1988 by Hazelden Foundation

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KEEP IT SIMPLE #essentialsofrec #EasyDoesIt #Slogans

Easy Does It.

~ Twelve Step slogan ~

We are people who push ourselves too hard. We try to be perfect. Well, we need to lighten up. Easy Does It. We need to slow down our pace.

Why? Because our program teaches us to give up trying to be perfect. We begin to love ourselves for who we are. We are enough. Over and over we hear this as we live the Steps. It’s the message of God’s love.

Our Higher Power wants us to live at a pace that’s not fast and hard, so we always know we’re loved. Remember, we’ve turned our life over to the care of God. And our life is a wonderful gift. As recovering people, we may know that better than others.

Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, teach me to live at Your pace, not mine. Help me keep in mind that life isn’t a race. It’s a spiritual journey. Walk with me.

Action for the Day

Today, I’ll take two hours just to relax and do loving things for myself. I’ll take time to count my blessings.

Copyright © 1988 by Hazelden Foundation

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