“Our best thinking brought us to our bottom.”

– Life with Hope, first edition, page 8

I love the saying, “Our best thinking brought us to our bottom.” When I try to manipulate others and situations to get my way, I am again resorting to my own worst thinking. I figure if I can steer the bus in just the right way, I will get what I want and be happy and relieved of suffering. However, when my actions are based on self-will and ego gratification, even when I initially achieve what I want, the outcomes are often hollow and may have negative unintended consequences that become clear over time. My desires alone, and the means I use to get those desires fulfilled, if not aligned with the will of my Higher Power, can lead to suffering for myself and others.

The beautiful thing about recovery is that it provides me with basic principles that, much like a map, when followed leads to elegant, robust and long-lasting positive outcomes. When I make the principles of recovery my focus and act upon those, I no longer have to suffer from obstacles generated by my own worst thinking.

The principles of Honesty, Hope, Faith, Courage, Integrity, Willingness, Humility, Love, Discipline, Perseverance, Spiritual Awareness, and Service as learned and practiced through the Twelve Steps are the keys. With these keys, I align myself with the help and support of a power greater than myself. When I am troubled and don’t know what to do, I pause, take a breath, and check-in to see if I am being willful or trying to manipulate people and situations; then I smile and turn the situation over to my Higher Power.

Final thought: Today, I ask God to reveal to me which recovery principle I need to focus on to get back to serenity.