If we are completely honest about ourselves, and together we apply the Steps, Traditions, Tools, and Principles in our lives, we will soon begin to receive these gifts of sanity and balance:
- We are not obsessed by work or plagued by work aversion.
- Adrenaline seeking loses its hold on us. Excessive worry and anxiety become a thing of the past.
- We have a daily action plan that faces the reality of time as well as priorities such as recovery, recreation, and relationships.
- Fears that there will not be enough time, money, or love leave us.
- We learn to play and have fun together.
- We repair broken relationships and build new ones.
- Health and self-nurturance return.
- Self-seeking and ego inflation do not drive our decisions.
- We lose interest in selfish things. We gain interest in—and compassion for—our partners, families, friends, and coworkers.
- We experience how well the program helps us to handle problems that used to confuse and defeat us.
- We ask for help and reach out to help others.
- We find that a Higher Power helps us in a way that self-reliance never could.
Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are already happening in the lives of many among us. For those of you who are new to our Fellowship, there are no problems that you have experienced that are not common to us. We welcome you with the deepest respect. When we apply this program with honesty and compassion, a place of serenity grows in us one day at a time.
(Workaholics Anonymous Book of Recovery, 2nd ed., 2015, p. 31)