Easy Does It

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EASY DOES IT
`You know, Dan,' he told me, `many people coming into A.A. get the wrong conception of "Easy Does It," and I hope you don't. It doesn't mean that you sit on your fanny, stay home from meetings, and let other people work the program for you. It doesn't mean you have an easy life without drinking. "Easy Does It" means you take it a day at a time.'
Dr. Bob and the Good Old Timers: page 282, paragraph 1

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"Easy Does It"
One of A.A.'s Most Workable and Useful Sayings
One of the most useful of the sayings that have been adopted in A.A. is that
which advises, "Easy Does It." So universally workable is this good advice
that it qualifies as the expression of one of the fundamental steps in
personal rehabilitation.
If this particular saying is applied sincerely and intelligently, it will
greatly ease the path of the newcomer in A.A., avert "slips" and further the
development of a mature life both inside and outside A.A.
Axioms are only words in themselves, of course, and the phraseology has
become trite in many cases. Pseudo-intellectuals are especially scornful of
old sayings, and even less snobbish observers may overlook the worth to be
found in the meaning behind the words.
It Means Relax!
For example, "Easy Does It," means - relax! Don't fret and worry and stew
and struggle! Take it easy! Relax!
Everyone who has an intimate knowledge of the alcoholic will agree that one
of the first things he needs to do is to relax, not only in the early stages
of A.A. but forever after and a day. "Easy Does It" applies no matter how
long one has been in A.A. and, in fact, it is essential to continued
progress in A.A. and to a return to more normal living outside.
Physical relaxation has long been identified as a characteristic of great
athletes. The DiMaggios and the Williams have an easy swing that belies yet
accounts for much of the power of their bats. The fastest of swimmers relax
with each stroke. In football, the relaxed player is less prone to fumbles
and injuries. The great runners have a relaxed stride even when they are
driving the hardest.
Relaxation frees the intellectual, the emotional and even the spiritual
functioning of the personality no less than it loosens the muscles of the
body.
"Easy Does It" for the newcomer during those first early days of confusion,
fear and doubt. If, instead of worrying and "tensing up" because he does not
grasp the whole A.A. program in the first sitting - if he will relax, he
will find that the emotional understanding as well as the intellectual
understanding of the A.A. philosophy will come along much more readily.
Fortunately, this is a saying which can be tested easily. It does not have
to be accepted on faith alone. Anyone can find out for himself whether it
works simply by trying it himself.
Suppose a problem has arisen. Suppose it is the old urge to reach for the
bottle. Or suppose the problem is one of those by-products of alcoholism
which continue to come up long after the urge to drink has gone. The
reaction of the alcoholic, and of more than a few non-alcoholics, is to
fight the problem, to worry about it, to get into a stew. The tension begins
to mount. Emotion runs wild. Self control is slipping rapidly. That's the
usual sequence. It can be broken if in the midst of it, the victim sits way
back, physically and mentally, and relaxes. First he must relax his muscles,
because that's the easiest to do. Then he must relax his mind, by directing
his thoughts to pleasant subjects, to a reminder that others have succeeded
and so can he, to mental pictures of peace and success. If he will but
direct his mind away from the problem, he will find a new source of strength
rising up within him.
At least that is the way it has worked and still works for others. The
individual who has learned how to relax has already advanced a long way
towards happiness and success.
Relax and enjoy A.A. Relax and enjoy life.
"Easy Does It." If you don't believe it, try it.

A.A. Grapevine, July 1948