Over-Serious Anonymous

[MajestyJo]

Over-Serious Anonymous 12-Step Program

1. We admitted that we were powerless over seriousness -- that our lives had become unmanageable.

2. Came to believe that only by lightening up could we achieve a state of non-seriousness.

3. Made a decision to turn our constant self-criticism over to our sense of humor and learn to "lovingly and wholeheartedly" laugh at ourselves.

4. Decided to give ourselves a break once in a while, instead of constantly doing searching and fearless moral inventories of ourselves.

5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being that our wrongs were often in our heads.

6. Were entirely ready to accept that our characters were as good as anybody else's and possibly better than most.

7. Quit harping on our shortcomings.

8. Made of list of all persons we thought we had harmed and saw that they'd forgotten all the crap we'd blown out of proportion.

9. Quit making amends for breathing air and taking up a few square feet of the planet's surface.

10. Resigned ourselves to the fact we were going to criticize ourselves at times, but would try to stick to our guns when we knew we were right.

11. Sought through prayer and meditation to calm down and realize we're not responsible for everything.

12. Having experienced immense relief from these steps, we would try to carry this message to other over-serious people and to practice these principles in all of our affairs.

Author unknown.

Perhaps this should be called Rule 62. Don't take your life so darn serious. It has been a long time since I read it, but I believe it is found in Tradition Four in the 12 & 12.

Recovery is serious. I had to learn to laugh at myself. I had to learn to enjoy life. If you are not enjoying life, what are you doing wrong? It was amazing to me that I could get up and dance without taking a drink. I took up line dancing. Then I found that it wasn't for me, I wanted to zig when I was suppose to zag. I do not do discipline and structure well. I am a free spirit.

It was amazing that my brain cells were restored and I was able to play bridge again. I always loved to play cribbage, euchre, darts, snooker. Before when I played it was life and death and I was out to win. Today I enjoy the game, I like to be competitive, but it isn't the win, win situation like it was before.