"Failure is impossible." ~ Susan B. Anthony
The Big Book says, "Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path." The word rarely has been questioned, but the reason for its use seems obvious: making arrogant claims violates the most fundamental principle of the twelve-step program.
Yet, few in this program would deny that whatever one believes to be possible, is possible. To begin the program with a feeling that I will fail is to hobble myself cruelly and almost certainly guaranteed failure.
Those who set forth in the belief that failure is impossible have vastly superior forces on their side.
For Today: This program works for everyone who wants and expects it to work.
Copyright (c) 2010, OA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Daily Affirmation: I choose joy.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
March 19
"It is frightful not to live" ~ Victor Hugo
When responsibilities press heavily, I tend to hoard my spirit, hang onto fear and act as if worry will improve my life. But today is all the time I have to live. It is not the "rightness" of conditions that determines whether I live life today. It is my attitude.
I have it within my power to give up worry, chuck my image like an old shell and release that fresh and joyous spirit I know is there. My frowning facade hides wonderfully free and uncomplicated thoughts, a warm and caring person.
For Today: Am I really like the image I have of myself? It's time to find out.
Copyright (c) 2010, OA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Daily Affirmation:
I am a magnet attracting love, health, happiness, wisdom, and wealth from the universe.
When responsibilities press heavily, I tend to hoard my spirit, hang onto fear and act as if worry will improve my life. But today is all the time I have to live. It is not the "rightness" of conditions that determines whether I live life today. It is my attitude.
I have it within my power to give up worry, chuck my image like an old shell and release that fresh and joyous spirit I know is there. My frowning facade hides wonderfully free and uncomplicated thoughts, a warm and caring person.
For Today: Am I really like the image I have of myself? It's time to find out.
Copyright (c) 2010, OA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Daily Affirmation:
I am a magnet attracting love, health, happiness, wisdom, and wealth from the universe.
Friday, March 18, 2011
March 18
"To stand on one leg and prove the existence of God is a very different thing from going down on one's knees and thanking him." ~ Soren Kierkegaard
I was sure I would never believe in the existence of God unless someone could prove it. No one has proved it yet, but spiritual awakening in Overeaters Anonymous makes such proof unnecessary. Thanking God every day is as necessary for me as breathing.
Though my understanding of God may change, it would make little difference to my practice of the twelve steps. Whatever my concept, I would still give everything to God: my worries, my fears, my shortcomings, my family, my friends, the state of the nation and the world. Does this mean I can now lie back and do nothing? Far from it. Turning over my anxiety about the things that concern me allows me to take effective action where I can. I do what it is possible for me to do and let God handle the rest.
For Today: I need no proof of God's existence to say Thank You for my abstinence and my freedom from compulsive overeating.
Copyright (c) 2010, OA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Daily Affirmation:
My perspective is unique and valuable.
I was sure I would never believe in the existence of God unless someone could prove it. No one has proved it yet, but spiritual awakening in Overeaters Anonymous makes such proof unnecessary. Thanking God every day is as necessary for me as breathing.
Though my understanding of God may change, it would make little difference to my practice of the twelve steps. Whatever my concept, I would still give everything to God: my worries, my fears, my shortcomings, my family, my friends, the state of the nation and the world. Does this mean I can now lie back and do nothing? Far from it. Turning over my anxiety about the things that concern me allows me to take effective action where I can. I do what it is possible for me to do and let God handle the rest.
For Today: I need no proof of God's existence to say Thank You for my abstinence and my freedom from compulsive overeating.
Copyright (c) 2010, OA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Daily Affirmation:
My perspective is unique and valuable.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
March 17
"Abstinence is as easy for me as temperance is difficult." ~ Samuel Johnson
Deciding I'm going to have a binge tonight and then quit is like saying I'll be green-eyed today and go back to being blue-eyed tomorrow morning. As crazy as that sounds, it's what I did before I came to OA. Against all the evidence, I thought I could handle an occasional pig-out, as many noncompulsive people do. I stubbornly refused to recognize the difference between myself and the normies: I could not stop. As one OA put it, "First there was the Friday night eat-all-you-want plan, which quickly became the weekend plan, which quickly slopped over into Monday and Tuesday, which then swallowed up the entire week."
For Today: As a compulsive overeater, it is far easier for me to abstain from overindulgence in food than to try to become a "normal" binger.
Copyright (c) 2010, OA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Daily Affirmation:
I possess an endless supply of energy and creativity.
Deciding I'm going to have a binge tonight and then quit is like saying I'll be green-eyed today and go back to being blue-eyed tomorrow morning. As crazy as that sounds, it's what I did before I came to OA. Against all the evidence, I thought I could handle an occasional pig-out, as many noncompulsive people do. I stubbornly refused to recognize the difference between myself and the normies: I could not stop. As one OA put it, "First there was the Friday night eat-all-you-want plan, which quickly became the weekend plan, which quickly slopped over into Monday and Tuesday, which then swallowed up the entire week."
For Today: As a compulsive overeater, it is far easier for me to abstain from overindulgence in food than to try to become a "normal" binger.
Copyright (c) 2010, OA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Daily Affirmation:
I possess an endless supply of energy and creativity.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
March 16
"Nothing in life is more wonderful than faith - the one great moving force which we can neither weigh in the balance nor test in the crucible." ~ Sir William Osler
I never saw it, touched it, smelled it, swallowed it with water or had it injected into me a hypodermic needle. But it brought about what no pill, no shot, no book, no lecture, no prayer had ever been able to do. It broke my compulsion.
"It," of course, is faith. From the moment I stepped in the door of my first meeting, OA gave me faith that this program would work for me. I believed, against all the odds, that it would work - and it did.
My faith in the power of the twelve-step program is stronger than ever. It has never failed me, and it will not fail anyone who can put aside doubt.
For Today: Compulsive overeating is no match for the twelve steps. There are people who need to hear that, both in and out of OA.
Daily Affirmation:
"I attract positive-minded people to me; I draw all things positive to myself."
Copyright (c) 2010, OA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
I never saw it, touched it, smelled it, swallowed it with water or had it injected into me a hypodermic needle. But it brought about what no pill, no shot, no book, no lecture, no prayer had ever been able to do. It broke my compulsion.
"It," of course, is faith. From the moment I stepped in the door of my first meeting, OA gave me faith that this program would work for me. I believed, against all the odds, that it would work - and it did.
My faith in the power of the twelve-step program is stronger than ever. It has never failed me, and it will not fail anyone who can put aside doubt.
For Today: Compulsive overeating is no match for the twelve steps. There are people who need to hear that, both in and out of OA.
Daily Affirmation:
"I attract positive-minded people to me; I draw all things positive to myself."
Copyright (c) 2010, OA World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
March 15
"Habit is habit, and not to be flung out the window...but coaxed downstairs a step at a time." ~ Mark Twain
The story is told of the newly self-aware member who, wanting to be rid of a particularly troublesome defect, prayed, "God, please give me patience - now!"
Waiting for what I want is difficult. That's why all the magic diets and quick weight loss schemes had so much appeal for me. I wanted to be rid of my excess weight now. I didn't want to hear about the dangers of crash dieting or its short-lived results.
In OA, change comes from the inside out. Eating is moderated to a satisfying, healthful intake that becomes part of a new way of life. Where once I made graphs and charts projecting the rate and amount of weight loss over the weeks and months, in OA the weight takes care of itself.
This process works equally well on habits I want to be rid of. I subject them to the OA program, one step at a time, and gradually they loosen their hold and fall away. I am not the same person I was when I came to OA.
For Today: There is help in the OA program for dealing with habits I wish I didn't have. Am I using that help?
Daily Affirmation:
"I am changing and growing through the challenges that come my way. Although imperfect, I strive for perfection by loving and being loved. I cloak myself in radian6 light and love. I arm myself with peace and optimism. Only the best of myself is available to brighten the path of those who accompany me along the way."
~A. MacInnis
The story is told of the newly self-aware member who, wanting to be rid of a particularly troublesome defect, prayed, "God, please give me patience - now!"
Waiting for what I want is difficult. That's why all the magic diets and quick weight loss schemes had so much appeal for me. I wanted to be rid of my excess weight now. I didn't want to hear about the dangers of crash dieting or its short-lived results.
In OA, change comes from the inside out. Eating is moderated to a satisfying, healthful intake that becomes part of a new way of life. Where once I made graphs and charts projecting the rate and amount of weight loss over the weeks and months, in OA the weight takes care of itself.
This process works equally well on habits I want to be rid of. I subject them to the OA program, one step at a time, and gradually they loosen their hold and fall away. I am not the same person I was when I came to OA.
For Today: There is help in the OA program for dealing with habits I wish I didn't have. Am I using that help?
Daily Affirmation:
"I am changing and growing through the challenges that come my way. Although imperfect, I strive for perfection by loving and being loved. I cloak myself in radian6 light and love. I arm myself with peace and optimism. Only the best of myself is available to brighten the path of those who accompany me along the way."
~A. MacInnis
Monday, March 14, 2011
March 14
"Nothing can bring you peace but yourself." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Like it or not, I am part of a world what searches after possession and prestige as if they are the key to happiness. Owning certain luxuries is called "living well." But is it, really? Living well is internal condition, not an external one. It means feeling good about myself. If I rely on something outside myself - possessions, people, places - the good feeling can be taken away as easily as it is given.
I want my feeling of worth to come from within, m place in the world to come from being at peace with myself. That is what the twelve-step program promises and delivers. The inner peace I achieve as I grow in the program enables me to provide for all my needs.
For Today: I cannot will myself to have peace of mind, but I can re-examine my priorities. Am I putting enough time and effort into activities that nurture my spirit?
Daily Affirmations:
I choose happiness over sadness. I choose freedom over bondage. I choose to love myself without judgement. I feel joy pumping through my veins.
I express my creativity.
"Like it or not, I am part of a world what searches after possession and prestige as if they are the key to happiness. Owning certain luxuries is called "living well." But is it, really? Living well is internal condition, not an external one. It means feeling good about myself. If I rely on something outside myself - possessions, people, places - the good feeling can be taken away as easily as it is given.
I want my feeling of worth to come from within, m place in the world to come from being at peace with myself. That is what the twelve-step program promises and delivers. The inner peace I achieve as I grow in the program enables me to provide for all my needs.
For Today: I cannot will myself to have peace of mind, but I can re-examine my priorities. Am I putting enough time and effort into activities that nurture my spirit?
Daily Affirmations:
I choose happiness over sadness. I choose freedom over bondage. I choose to love myself without judgement. I feel joy pumping through my veins.
I express my creativity.
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