TRUST

 

Definition of Trust:
Firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something.

Synonyms of Trust:
onfidence, belief, faith, sureness, certainty, certitude, assurance, credence, etc.

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

Love in fellowship.

Many of us are victims of our fears and anxieties. Fears in moderation are healthy signals to us.

But we need to learn to be more trusting. We can simply open ourselves to the possibility that things will turn out well.

Fearfulness is the problem, not any one fear. Trusting our Higher Power, we set our fearfulness aside, even if a few particular fears remain. –Touchstones | More…

Today is ours. Let us live today as we believe God wants us to live.

Each day will have a new pattern which we cannot foresee. But we can open each day with a quiet period in which we say a little prayer, asking God to help us through the day.

Personal contact with God, as we understand Him, will from day to day bring us nearer to an understanding of His will for us. At the close of the day, we offer Him thanks for another day of sobriety. A full, constructive day has been lived and we are grateful.  –24Hours | More…

We dreamed of being great.
Trying to be great is about control.

We’ve caused a lot of trouble trying to control things.
We’ve been afraid to just let things happen

We were not very trusting. Recovery is based on trust. We must learn to trust that it’s best for us to give up control. –Keep It Simple 19/07 | More…

Many of us have trust issues. Some of us tried long and hard to trust untrustworthy people.

Some of us trusted our Higher Power inappropriately. Some of us were taught that life couldn’t be trusted, that we had to control and manipulate our way through.

Most of us were taught, inappropriately, that we couldn’t trust ourselves. In recovery, we’re healing from our trust issues. We’re learning to trust again.

The first lesson in trust is this: We can learn to trust ourselves. We can be trusted.We can learn to appropriately trust our Higher Power – not to make people do what we wanted them to, but to help us take care of ourselves, and to bring about the best possible circumstances, at the best possible times, in our life.

We can trust the process – of life and recovery. We do not have to control, obsess, or become hyper vigilant.

When we learn to do this, we are ready to learn to trust other people. When we trust our Higher Power and when we trust ourselves, we will know who to trust and what to trust that person for. Perhaps we always did. We just didn’t listen closely enough to ourselves or trust what we heard. –The Language of Letting Go/Melody Beattie | More…

We are living on borrowed time. We are living today because of A.A. and the grace of God. Try to act as God guides and leave all results to Him. –24Hours | More…

For many of us, developing trust as we work our program has been painstakingly difficult. Learning to trust that our Higher Power cares for us, always, will relieve our anxious moments and restore our trust.

The calm of knowing our well-being is guaranteed comes when we willingly relinquish our frenzied attempts to control all the events in our life. One way we can learn to do this is by practicing quietness and breathing in calmness each time we feel anxiety over an outcome. –In God’s Care/Karen Casey | More…

When I put my faith in the spiritual power of the program, when I trust others to teach me what I need to do to have a better life, I find that I can trust myself to do what is necessary. –Daily Reflections | More…

Human beings are notoriously forgetful, unreliable, and imperfect. People are not always trustworthy, yet we must trust them.

First, we remind ourselves that the rules of active addiction don’t apply in recovery.  Second, we remind ourselves that we aren’t 100% reliable, either. Third, and most importantly, we realize that we need to trust our fellow members of AA.  –Just For Today | More…

Before program I was afraid to reach for recovery. I was afraid to try to be an over-comer and I was afraid to come to the edge.

But slowly I inched my way over to that edge and my Higher Power gave me a gentle nudge. I was flying! I wasn’t chained by my disease anymore.  –One Day At A Time | More…

Today, I will stop straining to know what I don’t know. To see what I can’t see.

To understand what I don’t yet understand. I will trust that being is sufficient, And I will let go of my need to figure things out. –The Language of Letting Go/Melody Beattie | More…

Children learn more by watching than by listening. If we want our children to understand and value trust, they know it by watching how adults live their lives!

If we want the children to be respectful, they will observe what the adults do and say to each other. We need to walk our talk. We need to remember the children are watching. –Elders Meditations

Trust yourself. Trust what you know.
We don’t have to forfeit our truth, or our power, to others.

That is codependency. When we discount that important part of ourselves that knows what is the truth, we cut ourselves off from our center. Ask to be shown the truth, clearly – not by the person trying to manipulate or convince you, but by yourself, your Higher Power, and the Universe. –The Language of Letting Go/Melody Beattie | More…

So many gifts await us when we accept the program and its principles. We dispense with the baggage of the past.

We learn to live this day only. And we come to believe that there is a power greater than ourselves that has everything and us in our lives under control. We can learn to trust, once again, when we apply the Steps of this program to our lives.–Each Day A New Beginning/Karen Casey | More…

These days, if I go through an experience that is new and demanding, I can do so in a spirit of confidence and trust. Thanks to The Program and Twelve Steps, I’ve come to know that God is with me in all places and in all endeavours.

His Spirit is in me as well as in the people around me. As a result, I feel comfortable even in new situations and at home even among strangers. –A Day At A Time 12/12 | More…

We’re becoming people who get involved in life. We practice caring about people and caring about ourselves. We do what is needed to stay sober. We gain skills by doing. why? We do it to save our lives. How? By trusting. We now trust that our Higher Power and friends will be there for us. They will help us push past our fears. As we practice daily how to stay sober, our skills grow. –Keep It Simple | More…

As we grow in our Twelve Step program, we learn the truth about trust. As we grow emotionally, we come to see that we have less difficulty trusting others. –Walk In Dry Places/Mel B 15/05 | More…

I am not a victim of others, but rather a victim of my expectations, choices and dishonesty. When I expect others to be what I want them to be and not who they are, when they fail to meet my expectations, I am hurt.

When my choices are based on self-centeredness, I find I am lonely and distrustful. When I search my motives and am honest and trusting, I am aware of the capacity for harm in situations and can avoid those that are harmful. –Daily Reflections | More…

In recovery, we’re healing from our trust issues.
We’re learning to trust again.

The first lesson in trust is this: We can learn to trust ourselves.
We can be trusted.

We can learn to appropriately trust our Higher Power. We can trust the process – of life and recovery. When we learn to do this, we are ready to learn to trust other people. –The Language of Letting Go/Melody Beattie | More…

For many of us, developing trust as we work our program has been painstakingly difficult. Learning to trust that our Higher Power cares for us, always, will relieve our anxious moments and restore our trust.

The calm of knowing our well-being is guaranteed comes when we willingly relinquish our frenzied attempts to control all the events in our life. One way we can learn to do this is by practicing quietness and breathing in calmness each time we feel anxiety over an outcome. –In God’s Care/Karen Casey | More…

When I put my faith in the spiritual power of the program, when I trust others to teach me what I need to do to have a better life, I find that I can trust myself to do what is necessary. –Daily Reflections | More…

I have more self-respect now that I have less sensitiveness. I have found that the only way to live comfortably with myself is to take a real interest in others.

Everything in your way may well have been planned by God to make you of some use in the world. Pray that you may not need to see the whole design of your life. Pray that you may trust the Designer.–24Hours | More…

Sobriety is adventuresome because it is bigger than simply “not drinking”; it seeks to address all areas of life and all situations.

Today I know that the real enemy in my life is me; I am the one who brings pain into my life. I am beginning to love myself by my decision not to drink. –Father Leo’s Meditations | More…

Trust. Trust. Trust. Again and again, that’s the issue.
You’re going somewhere worth going.

Somewhere magnificent beyond the ability of your mind to comprehend. By trusting the perfection of each moment, you give yourself a gift: permission to enjoy the journey. –Journey to the Heart | More…

No matter what you have known of doubt, fear, or betrayal, you are here today – right where you need to be. Trust the strong thread that ties your life’s moments together. It is spun of Love. God’s Love. –Carol Ann Morrow

So many gifts await us when we accept the program and its principles. We dispense with the baggage of the past. We learn to live this day only. And we come to believe that there is a power greater than ourselves that has everything and us in our lives under control. We can learn to trust, once again, when we apply the Steps of this program to our lives.–Each Day A New Beginning | More…

Trust yourself. Trust what you know. We don’t have to forfeit our truth, or our power, to others. That is codependency. When we discount that important part of ourselves that knows what is the truth, we cut ourselves off from our center. Ask to be shown the truth, clearly – not by the person trying to manipulate or convince you, but by yourself, your Higher Power, and the Universe. –The Language of Letting Go | More…

So many gifts await us when we accept the program and its principles. We dispense with the baggage of the past. We learn to live this day only. And we come to believe that there is a power greater than ourselves that has everything and us in our lives under control. We can learn to trust, once again, when we apply the Steps of this program to our lives.–Each Day A New Beginning | More…

Now that we’re in recovery, trust is essential. We need something to hang onto, believe in, and give us hope in our recovery. For some of us, the first thing we can trust is the words of other members sharing in meetings; we feel the truth in their words. Finding someone we can trust makes it easier to ask for help. And as we grow to trust in their recovery, we learn to trust our own. –Just For Today | More…