Steps Traditions Principle Focus By admin Posted on June 1, 2018 3 min read 2 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google+ Share on Reddit Share on Pinterest Share on Linkedin Share on Tumblr This morning, I picked up my OA Twelve and Twelve to read Tradition One because I needed help with a challenging situation at work. I know how well Tradition One works to keep meetings strong and united, and I needed help working as a team with a colleague. When a conflict or difference of opinion comes up, “Tradition One guides us to give other people’s opinions a respectful hearing. We express our own opinions honestly without belittling those who may disagree” (The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous, Second Edition, p. 93). After the discussion, “we resolve our differences of opinion by considering the welfare of the group as a whole” (p. 93). Tradition One teaches me to focus on Principles rather than differences. When I turn inward, my HP tells me that I am safe even if things don’t look the way I think they should. Just like there is more than one approach to recovery, there is more than one approach to doing things at work. For today, for unity to exist at work, I need to refrain from focusing on and discussing differences. I learned how to do this in OA group conscience meetings. After I share my opinion and the group decides to do something different, I support it because the unity of the group depends upon it, and my recovery depends on the unity of the group. I want unity at work, in my marriage, and in my relationships, and Tradition One tells me how: listen with an open heart, share my truth, come to a decision on what’s best for all, and commit myself to following the group conscience. This takes a good deal of letting go for this recovering control freak, but sanity, abstinence, and recovery are worth it! — Anonymous
