ACTION

Definition of Action:
The fact or process of doing something, typically to achieve an aim.

Synonyms of Action:
Steps, measures, activity, movement, work, effort, exertion, operation, etc.

These notes are from recovery in AA and/or related 12 step programs.
Readers are encouraged to click the external link for more detail.
We hope you find them helpful.

Love in fellowship.

You cannot think your way into right actions.
You have to act your way into right thinking. –Bill W.

Before recovery, we didn’t have to tell people we were alcoholics and addicts. Our actions showed it, if people knew what to look for. Now we don’t have to tell people we were recovering, because our actions will show it. –Keep It Simple 10/05 | More…

The Big Book states that IF you want what we have, you will do what we did. That also means the opposite … if you don’t want what we have, don’t do it. The insanity of this disease is expecting a different result by continually doing the same old thing.

Sanity is giving up what didn’t work and daring to try something new. –One Day At A Time | More…

An exhilaration about life accompanies the taking of action. The spell that idleness casts over us is broken, and subsequent actions are even easier to take. Clearly, making a choice and acting on it is healthful. The program has given us the tools to do both. –Each Day a New Beginning/Karen Casey | More…

When we approach Step Ten we commence to put our A.A. way of living to practical use, day by day, in fair weather or foul. Then comes the acid test: can we stay sober, keep in emotional balance, and live to good purpose under all conditions? –Daily Reflections 02/10 | More…

In the Steps we find action words: admitted, humbly asked, made direct amends, continued to take personal inventory. All these words speak of action, of doing. Recovery is about action. It’s for doers. –Keep It Simple | More…

Pay attention to how you feel: what you love, dislike, hate, enjoy. Pay attention to what grabs your heart, what interests you. Discover who you are, not who you think you should be. –52 Weeks of Conscious Contact/Melody Beattie | More…

AA is a program of action. Take action – God is attracted to action.

It is a great loss when we underestimate the importance of our efforts in the life of another. A little act, the best we have at that moment, makes a big difference to the person on the other end. Knowing this helps us make sure that all our acts, even the smallest, are as good as we can make them, because they all make a difference. –Today’s Gift | More…

I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something;
And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. -Edward Everett Hale

Our actions, not strictly our knowledge, will help us stay sober. Recovery is a program of action, of doing something that will contribute to our recovery today.

All the knowledge in the world won’t help us recover if we don’t use what we’ve learned. We must do -the things we’ve learned will help us make progress in recovery.

It’s up to us to put the Steps to work in our lives today. We are responsible for eating right and exercising, going to meetings, finding a Higher Power, and praying or meditating to continually strengthen our spiritual lives. –Body, Mind, and Spirit/Anonymous | More…

You learn to speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by running, to work by working; in just the same way, you learn to love by loving. You work the program by working the program. Paying lip service to the program doesn’t bring recovery; only working it does. Anything else is a waste of time and energy. –One Day At A Time | More…

Today, we seek solutions, not problems. The first time we heard that we should “act as if,” many of us exclaimed, “But that’s not honest! Each action we take in this vein brings us closer to becoming the people we were meant to be. Each positive change we make builds our self-esteem. Through acting differently, we will realize that we are beginning to think differently. We are living ourselves into right thinking by “acting as if.” –Just For Today |More…

There are certain prayers or actions we can take that will call the Powers. The Powers can only work through the people. The Powers are always waiting to express themselves through people that are ready. Every person born is born with a purpose. Every true purpose will always be about serving the Creator and helping others. When we let the Powers know that we are ready to serve the people, the Powers get excited because they can now do things to help the people and make things better for them. The decision is powerful because it turns an idea into action. –Elders Meditations | More…

We act our way into a new way of thinking. Understanding, acceptance, commitment… in community we learn that the experience of spirituality is more than seeing, more than feeling, more than willing – it is the essential interplay and interconnection of all three. –The Spirituality of Imperfection p.78-81 | More…

We either hang together, or we hang alone.I stayed “out” another year, and when I finally crawled into the rooms, I was ready. Early on, I saw someone celebrate a six-year anniversary, and he said something I will never forget. He said, “Find someone you can tell the truth to; we don’t do this alone.” Thank God I took his advice. The moment I began to let the program in, the fellowship in, and a God of my own understanding into my life, I began to recover. By getting involved, I got out of me and got into “we.” And then I finally understood: We either hang together or we hang alone. — Wisdom Of The Rooms | More…