If you have decided you want what we have and are willing to go to any length to get it-then you are ready to take certain steps.
I guess for myself that meant doing things I didn't want to do...And hearing things I didn't want to hear. I not only had to admit to my innermost self I was alcoholic...I had to admit I couldn't do this alone. I needed three things I was seriously lacking in my life. Complete honesty...With myself and others...Humility...Becoming openminded and teachable...My way didn't work...And Spirituality....Something I had had in my life before...But like so many other things..Alcohol helped me to turn my back on it.
I think when I had those three things in my mind and heart...And I became willing to practice them in all my affairs....Just to make progress in each of those areas....I was ready to take certain steps. And those steps are the most incredible journey I've ever been on...There is no way you can take them and not change...And I needed change more than anything...Any thoughts on...Willing to go to any length?
Hi :} Going to any lengths to me is ''Doing the things I love all AA things '' Why because it all keep me Happy...
My way never did work either but today I know a way that ''WORKS '' I went to every length possible and gave it my ALL..
This has saved my life for to not go to all lengths possible I would have died and that I do know for SURE....And each day I try to take a little step further in more search and understanding of my Gods will for me and the AA program to the fullest.
If I am not helping others I am sure to be helping myself :}
To me it means "you do what it takes to get it done no matter what"
My Father told me when I was very young, "There is no try, there is only do, or do not"
I learned this to be true when I got sober and have applied it to every area of my life (when I wanted something bad enough)
When I got sober after drinking again, 2 nights a week I drove an hour in each direction, 1-2 nights a week I drove 2 hours a direction, and one night a week I drove 20 minutes a direction to get to a meeting, I did so on a suspended license in a town a block long where the 3 cops in town -knew- my license was suspended (I rode a bicycle to and from work, but drove to meetings). I said to myself if I get pulled over and go to jail I will just 12 step guys in jail, I felt my life was literally on the line and I needed to go to meetings to save it.
This also applied to getting a sponsor and working the steps, someone telling me to do things I didn't like and didn't understand in order to keep me alive after I left, just like boot camp with a DI.
This philosophy has come to be a part of my personal and professional life, and it has allowed me to overcome insurmountable obstacles again and again.
It boils down to Honesty, Open minded, and Willingness, and I have to admit when I see people come in that aren't prepared to "give it their all" I have zero time nor pity for them, you want what we have? Great, do what we did, no excuses, no stories, STFU and start chopping wood and carrying water, you do this and I (and countless other alcoholics) will do anything in our power to help you, you don't and I can't be F'd to waste my time on you, listening to your stories, because that's all they are, is stories, delusional ramblings of a mind that judges itself by it's intentions rather then by it's actions.
Do what it takes to get it done no matter what and this program will work for you, sub par efforts give sub par results, I have never seen this to be wrong.
Once I found out it worked for sobriety, I found it works in every aspect of my life, anything I have actually set my mind to I have succeeded in, using the tools I learned from this Program, from rebuilding cars to starting my own business to sculpting to being a surf bum, when I bring the same willingness to succeed, the "gift of desperation", 100% commitment to anything I succeed, and I learned that here.
There is no try, there is only do
Do what it takes to get it done no matter what
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Light a man a fire and he's warm for a night, set a man on fire and he will be warm for the rest of his life
I guess for myself that meant doing things I didn't want to do...And hearing things I didn't want to hear. Complete honesty...With myself and others...Humility...Becoming openminded and teachable...My way didn't work...And Spirituality....Something I had had in my life before...But like so many other things..Alcohol helped me to turn my back on it.
Thadd - Interesting that you should write this today, I've been thinking along these same lines lately, especially yesterday, and shared about this very same topic at last nights meeting.
For me it means ALL of what you wrote above. I can only add that I have to be more disciplined with my daily readings, prayer, gratitude lists and meditations.
I am also seriously considering relocating. I've been praying about it a lot. I need to make sure it's not a case of running or hiding, but a healthy move. I'm sickened by the everyday reminders of what a pathetic drunk I was, and the consequences. It's not good for me to see these things on a daily basis. Sometimes, a geographical cure can be a good thing!
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~Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy will~
It meant surrendering my old ways of thinking and acting and replacing them with The Program of action. Faith and trust in a HP and something other than me.
At first, it was talking and listening to my sponsor. Doing anything he told me to do. This was any length to me because I always thought I could do it myself and didn't need help. It meant doing things that were'nt my default settings. Being open, honest and willing to WORK The Program as it's layed out in the BB. I guess it came down to asking for help. Very hard for this alcoholic to do. It also meant doing things I didn't want to do. Acting my way into good thinking. The Steps helped me achieve sobriety and make contact with a HP that I now rely upon. Reliance in lieu of defiance.
"Willing to go to any Length? " ... ... ... It was pretty clear and simple to me ... I went to extraordinary lengths to get my alcohol and stay stocked up with it ... I knew right off the bat, for me to get and remain sober, I'd have to go to similar 'extraordinary' lengths to do so ... (amazing what we can accomplish when we put our minds to it and include God) ...
Like Yoda trying to teach Luke of the power of 'The Force' ... ... when Luke was trying to raise his ship out of the swamp ... Yoda said ... "Luke, Do or Do Not, there is No Try" ... and like me, early in the program, Luke just didn't quite get it ... and his ship sank back into the swamp ... and Yoda wound up demonstrating the power of 'The Force' if properly called on ... (proves that Luke wasn't ready to go to any length yet ... to understand and use 'The Force')
Good One Stepchild!!!
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'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
To me, it's to quit hiding in my comfort box and explore the rewards the world has to offer instead of sitting on my butt going "i can't... That's too hard... Why me?..."
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sober: showing no excessive or extreme qualities of fancy, emotion, or prejudice
It's not to go to any lengths to "stay sober", it's to have a "spiritual awakening". Spiritual awakening may include relapse. As Bill later says if you think you are not powerless go try controlled drinking.
I have seen this statement "go to any lengths to stay sober" from many institutions and people. It's interesting that the original context has been ommitted and institutions and people have used his words to fit there own needs.
Staying sober has become more important than spiritual awakening.
Hi. Been a while. Good post. I remember reading in the traditions checklist, I don't remember which tradition but it asks a question, "Am I willing to help a newcomer go to any lengths - HIS lengths, not MINE". I used to think, when I was sponsoring people that they had to do what I did in order to get it. But, everyone is different and just like one person's bottom might not be the same as my bottom, what they define to themselves as any lengths might not be the same as what I consider to be any lengths, but it's important that we are willing to do whatever it takes for each of us. Thanks for the reminder.
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Not all my days are priceless, but none of my days are worthless, anymore.
It meant doing things that were'nt my default settings. Being open, honest and willing to WORK The Program as it's layed out in the BB. I guess it came down to asking for help. Very hard for this alcoholic to do. It also meant doing things I didn't want to do. Acting my way into good thinking. The Steps helped me achieve sobriety and make contact with a HP that I now rely upon. Reliance in lieu of defiance. 