Three Sayings

I get to write this article. I am so grateful I learned this affirmation early in my recovery. It started with a phone call to my sponsor. When I complained that I had to go to work, she said, “You get to work.” When I told her I had to do laundry, go to the bank, clean the house, or do anything I didn’t want to do, she said, “You get to.” It really makes a difference! In fact, when I forget and complain, others remind me that I get to because I have shared with them this wonderful way of overcoming resistance to things I don’t want to do. With a good attitude, I get to drive the freeway when it is busy, and I repeat, “I get to drive. I get to drive.” Attitude is everything. It really works if you use it.

Another good saying I use is, “It’s none of my business what people think and say about me.” It’s not that I don’t care what people think or say about me, but it’s none of my business. This has given me so much freedom! I don’t have to overeat because of what people might say or think of me. I love my new freedom; it’s what the program promised.

And I realized not everybody is going to love and like me. Before, I would do everything in my power to get everybody to love and like me, and I didn’t even love and like myself. This caused me to overeat, stuffing down feelings again and again.

I learned I needed to become my own best friend, and that is a full-time job. I treated others better than myself, and I did not know how to say no. I learned to really love and like myself, but there is always room for improvement. Now I can be my own best friend most of the time, which means I can be a real friend to others.

Last but not least, “Okay, God” is one of my favorite prayers. It is so easy to say, and it reminds me that I am not in charge. I say, “Okay, God,” throughout the day, and I don’t have to overeat. It helps me have a good attitude and acceptance of whatever is going to happen today and every day for the rest of my life. “Okay, God,” is a short form of “Thy will be done.”

— Edited and reprinted from S.G.V.I.E. Briefs newsletter, San Gabriel Valley Inland Empire Intergroup, May/June 2008