65 Good 12 Step Recovery Slogans and Sayings

The 12 Step Recovery Plan was established in 1935 by Bill Wilson. The primary concept of this program is to join others that suffer with similar symptoms to stay dry. Bill Wilson found this deal to be a success by finding his daily reprieve from alcohol by helping others. Five years, the emergence of this program drew about a spiritual doctrine from Christian practices and served as the guidelines for living right, looking at ones own strengths and weaknesses, making restitution, and helping others. Over two million people worldwide are said to attend regular meetings. The 12 Step Recovery Plan has been applied to various addictions from drugs, food, compulsive behaviors, gambling, and sex. The following listing of recovery slogans have been used by participants to encourage and inspire attending members.

A journey of a 1,000 miles begins with the first step..
Act as if………
Addicts heal from the outside in………but feel from the inside out.
Be as enthusiastic about recovery as you were about your addiction.
Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
Before engaging your mouth, put your mind in gear!
Bring the body and the mind will follow
Count your blessings.
Depression is anger toward inward.
Do it sober.
Do the next “right thing.”
Easy does it, but do it.
Every day is a gift that is why we call it the ‘present.’
Every recovery from addiction began with one sober Minute.
Formula for failure: try to please everyone.
Get it —give it—grow in it.
Humility is our acceptance of ourselves.
If I think, I won’t drink. If I drink, I can’t think.
If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.
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.
It isn’t the load that weighs us down – it’s the way we carry it.
It’s the “first” drink that gets you drunk.
Keep an open mind.
Keep coming back.
Learn a new dance – the old “Cross – Pot Shuffle” is out of vogue.
Live in the NOW.
Look after the Little Things.
Look for similarities rather than differences.
Minds are like parachutes—-they won’t work unless they’re open.
Nothing is so bad, using won’t make it worse.
One alcoholic talking to another……..
One drink is too many and thousand not enough.
Poor me…..Poor me…… Pour me a drink!
Recovery is an education without a graduation.
Remember that addiction is incurable, progressive, and fatal. It takes time to get better.
Share your happiness.
Share your pain.
Sick and tired of being sick and tired.
Sobriety is a journey ……….not a destination.
Sorrow is looking back, Worry is looking around.
Stay sober for yourself.
Stick with the winners.
Take the cotton out of your ears and put it in your mouth.
The elevator is broken – use the ‘steps.’
The first step is the only step a person can work perfectly.
The flip side to forgiveness is resentments.
The lesson I must learn is simply that my control is limited to my own behavior, my own attitudes.
There are two days in every week which we have no control over—-yesterday and tomorrow. today is the only day we can change.
This is a selfish program.
To keep it (recovery), you have to give it away.
To thine own self be true.
Try not place conditions on your sobriety.
Use the 24-hour plan.
We all have another drunk left in us but we don’t know if we have another recovery in us.
We are only as sick as our secrets.
We’re responsible for the effort – not the outcome!
What goes around, comes around.
When a person tries to control their addiction they have already lost control
When all else fails, follow directions.
When wallowing in your self-pity …… get off the cross! We need the wood.
When your head begins to swell your mind stops growing.
Where ever you go …….there you are.
You are not alone.
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.

Currently, 90% of addiction based treatment plans involve a 12 step program. Retention rates are shown to 33% after the first year. The average length that an AA member is said to stay sober is 8 years, double the rate of 30 years ago. The below infographic outlines additional statistics and facts about the 12 Step Recovery Plan.