Hey all you lovely sober people!
I’m looking for short mantras to use in sobriety.
Specifically, I’m planning on doing some petite cross stitch pieces to hang as a reminder of the how and why of this process.
Any brilliant suggestions?
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a short one i like is “surrender to win”
obviously the word surrender is generally not associated with “winning” anything. but, personally i like this saying because for me i try to “surrender” in various ways every day. my old mentality was always that i could figure out a way to get around my drinking/using. i thought i would be able to out think it. i kinda gave that up and figured i could never live without drinking, so i thought i could find a way to fit alcohol into my life when really i was just surrendering to flat out alcoholism. but when i think now about “surrender to win” it’s more that i surrendered to that line of thinking. for me that line of thinking is delusional. i admitted defeat, i gave up imagining that i was going to figure out how to keep drinking in my life and decided i’d seek help to recover and in recovery i have a new mindset and that’s where the “win” comes in for me. 
whatever you decide to cross stitch i hope you show on the forum!
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One day at a time seems to be popular
Check etsy for some inspiration!
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Never go back! Alternativly Dont look back.
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Progress not perfection
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Grow through what you go through
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Nothing changes if nothing changes
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I am in control of my life
“As you think, so shall you will be.” – philosopher William James
- I am okay in this moment.
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Surrender to win has been quintessential for me.
Imagine it like we are boxers, training for the big fight. Months of prep. Weights and cardio. We get into the ring with King Alcohol and bam, 1 punch and we are sent sprawling. Somehow we get it up. 1 punch and sprawling again. Every spectator in the building knows we don’t stand a chance. Our coaches and trainers know its not a fair fight. Yet we get up again and put our gloves up. Bam! Down again. Coaches wave the white towel we shout in protest, I can do it, I can overcome, I can beat him.
I know I can’t beat alcohol. I never step into the ring with him anymore. My fighting days are done. I devote my energy to training others and helping them instead of facing the monster myself.
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@CaptAZ I really love that analogy. I’m going to use that in my workouts as a visualization since I do kickboxing.
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-Revealing is healing
-Progress not perfection
-I was sick and tired of being sick and tired
-If you’re going through hell, keep going
-If you keep doing what your doing you will
keep getting what you are getting
-It will get better
-This too shall pass
-I am alive, I am present
-I believe in my path and myself
-I didn’t get into trouble every time I drank…but every time I got into trouble, I was drinking.
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It got so much easier when I admitted im powerless. When I admitted I couldn’t win. Allowed to move on to what I could do instead.
Grant me the serenity to accept the people I can’t change, the courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know that asshole is me.
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I also just like the thought of taking the time in the gym and duking it out with that thought and walking away feeling better, healthier and not defeated. To fight the thought figuratively to apply it to any moment the real thing may come up and think “nope, I already fought you today, yesterday, this week and you did not win. I’ll see you tomorrow at the gym.”
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Everything I’m seeking, I need to find in me
Share your sobriety every day… use words when necessary
Just shed your fear
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You are not going to master the rest of your life in one day. Just relax. Master the day. Then just keep doing that every day.
The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.
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I believe if you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.
You are not stuck where you are unless you decide to be.
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Yes!!! This!!!
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Never give up, never surrender!
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I use “health above all else.”
Health is my primary motivator.
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Nothing changes if nothing changes.
Brilliant
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Ooo one my sponsor uses:
“Take my advice…I’m not using it”
One I use to keep me honest:
“It is better to be hated for who you are than loved for who you are not”
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Damnit I’m out of likes. Sorry @C-sun.
I happen to love the old timers in my group, but I understand their style isn’t for everyone. The little leprechaun told me to get a sponsor when I brought up slacking on my step work haha. But his favorite lines are:
Sit down, shut up, and listen.
Don’t think. Don’t drink. Go to meetings.
Shut up Rick, smartass. (He’s another guy in my home group).
I also like:
Let go or get dragged.
Let go and let God.
Take the cotton out of your ears and put it in your mouth.
Hi I’m an alcoholic and Derek is my problem.
We absolutely insist on enjoying life.
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It’s true you know… the old-timer leprechaun thing. The longer your sobriety, the shorter you get 
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