The essence of all growth is a willingness to change for the better and then an unremitting willingness to shoulder whatever responsibility this entails.
As Bill Sees It, p. 115
Sometimes when I’ve become willing to do what I should have done all along. I want praise and recognition. I don’t realize that the more I’m willing to act differently, the more exciting my life is. The more I’m willing to help others, the more rewards I receive. That’s what practicing the principles means to means to me. Fun and benefits for me are in the willingness to do the actions, not to get immediate results. Being a little kinder, a little slower to anger, a little more loving makes my life better --- day by day.
Daily Reflections, p. 109
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I suppose it is possible to be a little kinder, slower to anger, more loving, and willing to help others on my own. However, it is so much easier to act in this manner when I am immersed in a community that honors these ideals. Not only that, but I am more able to see where I can be useful… where my helping hand elevates rather than encourages dependence. If I could have done this on my own I might not have ever needed to find AA. It wasn’t for lack of trying, but my addictions got in the way of my good intentions. Not very many of us are psychopaths or sociopaths… after all, most of us don’t mean to do harm. We don’t mean to be irresponsible and undependable or to become alcoholics or addicts. The company I keep either way has influence on my behavior no matter how self-motivated I think I am. We have a few sayings in AA that advise; “Stay away from the barber shop if you don’t want a haircut,” or, “We need to find new playgrounds and new playmates,” and finally, “I don’t need to change much, I just need to change everything.”
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