Asking Better Questions

In my white-knuckling phase, I kept asking, Am I an alcoholic? I couldn’t be; I just wasn’t that bad — not like other problem drinkers I knew! 

asking

Reading in Step by Step: Real AAs, Real Recovery, I gleaned a bit of wisdom from an old-timer: 

 

Quit asking if you are an alcoholic.

[A]sk myself a simple question: Am I or am I not powerless over alcohol? I didn’t have to compare myself or my experiences with anyone, just answer the simple question. In 1945 I had male evidence in twenty four years of irrational or “alcoholic” drinking to prove I was “powerless over alcohol.” But, I wasted valuable time wondering whether a certain adjective applied to me.  (J.L.S., pages 7-8)

Don’t Waste Precious Time  

Take all the time you need, but hurry up!

The impulse to compare ourselves to other people’s stories is dangerous. When I made remarks  to my sponsor about how I couldn’t relate to so-’n-so’s story because I never did those things— their response was always, “Not Yet.”

Among the other program principles I have come to believe is drinking will take me places I’d never dreamed I would go. (But when I did my Fourth Step, hey I discovered I went to places I never imagined I’d go . . .   )

This morning as a new year opens up, what questions are you asking, dear reader?  

If You Wonder If. . .  maybe rephrase your question, and ask a better question:

Am I or am I not powerless over alcohol?

You Might like this link: Do You Have a Problem?

I am not powerless over assuming responsibility for my own recovery. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 21

Happy Day of Small Beginnings!   Zechariah 4:10

 

Love in Christ,

Sober and Grateful

 

asking
and not all the stitches are perfect!
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