[bluidkiti]

November 28

Quote of the Week

“Keep it simple; get stupid.”

I’m a pretty complicated person. I not only tend to think about things, I like to over think them. “What if this or that happens?” Is one of my favorites. “What will he or she do and what will/can I do if they do?” On and on my obsessive thinking goes, questioning, worrying, doubting, and always trying to manipulate situations to get what I think I want. And it’s not only this way with problems. I’ll question and think my way out of good solutions as well. I am too smart for my own good, and I seemingly have little interest in simple suggestions.

When I entered the program, I saw a sign on the meeting room walls that said, “Keep it simple.” I didn’t agree and started arguing with people as I tried to think my way around the Steps. And that’s when someone suggested that I “get stupid.” At first I was offended, but then he explained that no one could pour solutions into me if my cup was already full of my own bad ideas. He said that by keeping my focus on the simple things like attending meetings, not drinking one day at a time, reading the literature, etc., that I would discover an easier, softer way and my life would get better.
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It took a lot of work to “get stupid,” but I found that the simpler I made things, the easier my life became. The more I “let go and let God,” the less I had to try to control, manipulate and force my will on things. By resigning from the committee in my head and becoming humble enough to admit that perhaps I didn’t know better after all, the more comfortable I became in my own skin. Today I can still complicate any problem or situation if I think about it too much. But then I remember the wisdom of “getting stupid,” and I am soon amazed by how simple the solutions really are.