SELF in Big Book Alcoholics Anonymous, 12 Steps and 12 Traditions

From the books ... Alcoholics Anonymous (Big Book) and Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (12 & 12)

seldom

select

selecting

SELF occurs 156 times (Definition from Merriam-Webster Online)

selfish

selfishly

selfishness

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... self. BB p.108, To Wives

You can see that he really does love you with his better self.

... self-appointed members present themselves as messiahs representing ... 12&12 p.187, Tradition Twelve

We simply couldn't afford to take the chance of letting self-appointed members present themselves as messiahs representing A.A. before the whole public.

... self-appointed, of course, because there is no ... 12&12 p.133, Tradition Two

These are the growing group's hierarchy of service -- self-appointed, of course, because there is no other way.

... self-appraisal. 12&12 p.89, Step Ten

The emphasis on inventory is heavy only because a great many of us have never really acquired the habit of accurate self-appraisal.

... self-appraisal. BB p.76, Into Action

We subjected ourselves to a drastic self-appraisal.

... self-appraisal, and the admission of our defects ... 12&12 p.59, Step Five

Hence it was most evident that a solitary self-appraisal, and the admission of our defects based upon that alone, wouldn't be nearly enough.

... self-appraisal, how you straightened out your past ... BB p.94, Working With Others

Outline the program of action, explaining how you made a self-appraisal, how you straightened out your past and why you are now endeavoring to be helpful to him.

... self-appraisal insufficient. BB p.72, Into Action

In actual practice, we usually find a solitary self-appraisal insufficient.

... self-centered and in direct conflict with the ... BB p.124, The Family Afterward

We think that such a view is self-centered and in direct conflict with the new way of living.

10.

... self-centered behavior blocked a partnership relation with ... 12&12 p.53, Step Four

This self-centered behavior blocked a partnership relation with any one of those about us.

11.

... self-centered -- ego-centric, as people like to call ... BB p.61, How It Works

Our actor is self-centered -- ego-centric, as people like to call it nowadays.

12.

... self-centered fear -- primarily fear that we would ... 12&12 p.76, Step Seven

The chief activator of our defects has been self-centered fear -- primarily fear that we would lose something we already possessed or would fail to get something we demanded.

13.

... self-centered in the extreme, doesn't care for ... 12&12 p.24, Step One

No, the average alcoholic, self-centered in the extreme, doesn't care for this prospect -- unless he has to do these things in order to stay alive himself.

14.

... self-centered person; and we were not above ... BB p.116, To Wives

We wives found that, like everybody else, we were afflicted with pride, self-pity, vanity and all the things which go to make up the self-centered person; and we were not above selfishness or dishonesty.

15.

... self-centeredness. BB p.14, Bill's Story

It meant destruction of self-centeredness.

16.

... self-centeredness! BB p.62, How It Works

Selfishness -- self-centeredness!

17.

... self-centeredness cannot be set in reverse all ... 12&12 p.73, Step Seven

A whole lifetime geared to self-centeredness cannot be set in reverse all at once.

18.

... self-centeredness much by wishing or trying on ... BB p.62, How It Works

Neither could we reduce our self-centeredness much by wishing or trying on our own power.

19.

... self-confidence. 12&12 p.22, Step One

We had approached A.A. expecting to be taught self-confidence.

20.

... self-confidence, but it didn't fully solve the ... BB p.68, How It Works

Some of us once had great self-confidence, but it didn't fully solve the fear problem, or any other.

21.

... self-confidence, their reliance upon things human, their ... BB xxviii(xxvi), The Doctor's Opinion

These allergic types can never safely use alcohol in any form at all; and once having formed the habit and found they cannot break it, once having lost their self-confidence, their reliance upon things human, their problems pile up on them and become astonishingly difficult to solve.

22.

... self-confidence was no good whatever; in fact, ... 12&12 p.22, Step One

Then we had been told that so far as alcohol is concerned, self-confidence was no good whatever; in fact, it was a total liability.

23.

... self-confidence, we were apt to play the ... 12&12 p.92, Step Ten

Thus blinded by prideful self-confidence, we were apt to play the big shot.

24.

... self-confident, that it would be only a ... BB p.40, More About Alcoholism

I felt I had every right to be self-confident, that it would be only a matter of exercising my will power and keeping on guard.

25.

... self-conscious or feel that you must apologize ... BB p.115, To Wives

You will no longer be self-conscious or feel that you must apologize as though your husband were a weak character.

26.

... self-consciousness will do wonders for you socially. BB p.115, To Wives

Your new courage, good nature and lack of self-consciousness will do wonders for you socially.

27.

... self-constructed prisons, the surety that we need ... 12&12 p.124, Step Twelve

Service, gladly rendered, obligations squarely met, troubles well accepted or solved with God's help, the knowledge that at home or in the world outside we are partners in a common effort, the well-understood fact that in God's sight all human beings are important, the proof that love freely given surely brings a full return, the certainty that we are no longer isolated and alone in self-constructed prisons, the surety that we need no longer be square pegs in round holes but can fit and belong in God's scheme of things -- these are the permanent and legitimate satisfactions of right living for which no amount of pomp and circumstance, no heap of material possessions, could possibly be substitutes.

28.

... self-control. 12&12 p.91, Step Ten

Disagreeable or unexpected problems are not the only ones that call for self-control.

29.

... self-control. BB p.26, There Is A Solution

He wished above all things to regain self-control.

30.

... self-deceived? 12&12 p.59, Step Five

If all our lives we had more or less fooled ourselves, how could we now be so sure that we weren't still self-deceived?

31.

... self-deceived, and so incapable of receiving enough ... 12&12 p.32, Step Two

Therefore we remained self-deceived, and so incapable of receiving enough grace to restore us to sanity.

32.

... self-deception and experimentation, they will try to ... BB p.31, More About Alcoholism

By every form of self-deception and experimentation, they will try to prove themselves exceptions to the rule, therefore nonalcoholic.

33.

... self-delusion had been causing us. 12&12 p.58, Step Five

As we took inventory, we began to suspect how much trouble self-delusion had been causing us.

34.

... self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity, we step on ... BB p.62, How It Works

Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate.

35.

... self-destruction. 12&12 p.64, Step Six

Defying their instinctive desire for self-preservation, they seem bent upon self-destruction.

36.

... self-destruction. BB p.56, We Agnostics

Post-war disillusionment, ever more serious alcoholism, impending mental and physical collapse, brought him to the point of self-destruction.

37.

... self-determined objective and for the perfect objective ... 12&12 p.68, Step Six

So the difference between "the boys and the men" is the difference between striving for a self-determined objective and for the perfect objective which is of God.

38.

... self-discipline. 12&12 p.52, Step Four

These are the sort of fundamental inquiries that can disclose the source of my discomfort and indicate whether I may be able to alter my own conduct and so adjust myself serenely to self-discipline.

39.

... self-discipline. BB p.567(569), Appendix II, Spiritual Experience

What often takes place in a few months could seldom have been accomplished by years of self-discipline.

40.

... self-discipline had qualified him to drink as ... BB p.32, More About Alcoholism

Then he fell victim to a belief which practically every alcoholic has -- that his long period of sobriety and self-discipline had qualified him to drink as other men.

41.

... self esteem (fear). BB p.65, How It Works

Mr. Brown -- his attention to my wife -- sex relations; self esteem (fear).

42.

... self esteem (fear). BB p.65, How It Works

Mr. Brown -- told my wife of my mistress -- sex relations; self esteem (fear).

43.

... self esteem (fear). BB p.65, How It Works

Mr. Brown -- Brown may get my job at the office -- security; self esteem (fear).

44.

... self esteem (fear). BB p.65, How It Works

Mrs. Jones -- she's a nut, she snubbed me; she committed her husband for drinking; he's my friend; she's a gossip -- personal relationship; self esteem (fear).

45.

... self esteem (fear); security. BB p.65, How It Works

My employer -- unreasonable, unjust, overbearing; threatens to fire me for drinking and padding my expense account -- self esteem (fear); security.

46.

... self-esteem, our pocketbooks, our ambitions, our personal ... BB p.64, How It Works

In most cases it was found that our self-esteem, our pocketbooks, our ambitions, our personal relationships (including sex) were hurt or threatened.

47.

... self-esteem, our security, our ambitions, our personal, ... BB p.65, How It Works

Was it our self-esteem, our security, our ambitions, our personal, or sex relations, which had been interfered with?

48.

... self-evident. BB p.9, Bill's Story

That was two months ago and the result was self-evident.

49.

... self-examination are bound to make all the ... 12&12 p.89, Step Ten

For these minutes and sometimes hours spent in self-examination are bound to make all the other hours of our day better and happier.

50.

... self-examination, meditation, and prayer. 12&12 p.98, Step Eleven

There is a direct linkage among self-examination, meditation, and prayer.

51.

... self-forgetting. 12&12 p.101, Step Eleven

This he would try to do by what he called self-forgetting.

52.

... "self-forgetting," and how did he propose to ... 12&12 p.101, Step Eleven

What did he mean by "self-forgetting," and how did he propose to accomplish that?

53.

... self-forgetting that one finds. 12&12 p.99, Step Eleven

For it is by self-forgetting that one finds.

54.

... self-importance. 12&12 p.120, Step Twelve

Money was the symbol of pleasure and self-importance.

55.

... self-importance. 12&12 p.122, Step Twelve

In later life he finds that real happiness is not to be found in just trying to be a number one man, or even a first-rater in the heartbreaking struggle for money, romance, or self-importance.

56.

... self-importance. 12&12 p.124, Step Twelve

We no longer strive to dominate or rule those about us in order to gain self-importance.

57.

... self-imposed crisis we could not postpone or ... BB p.53, We Agnostics

When we became alcoholics, crushed by a self-imposed crisis we could not postpone or evade, we had to fearlessly face the proposition that either God is everything or else He is nothing.

58.

... 'self-insurance.' BB p.572(574), Appendix V, The Religious View on A.A.

The A.A. plan is described by the members themselves as 'self-insurance.'

59.

... self-insurance has resulted in the restoration of ... BB p.572(574), Appendix V, The Religious View on A.A.

This self-insurance has resulted in the restoration of physical, mental and spiritual health and self-respect to hundreds of men and women who would be hopelessly down and out without its unique but effective therapy."

60.

... self-interest, pure and simple, that has enabled ... 12&12 p.66, Step Six

After all, hasn't it been self-interest, pure and simple, that has enabled most of us to escape?

61.

... self-justification. 12&12 p.54, Step Four

Because our surface record hasn't looked too bad, we have frequently been abashed to find that this is so simply because we have buried these selfsame defects deep down in us under thick layers of self-justification.

62.

... self-justification, and always spurred by conscious or ... 12&12 p.48, Step Four

For pride, leading to self-justification, and always spurred by conscious or unconscious fears, is the basic breeder of most human difficulties, the chief block to true progress.

63.

... self-justification during their drinking days. 12&12 p.46, Step Four

First off, they can be told that the majority of A.A. members have suffered severely from self-justification during their drinking days.

64.

... self-justification or resentful criticism. BB p.127, The Family Afterward

These family talks will be constructive if they can be carried on without heated argument, self-pity, self-justification or resentful criticism.

65.

... self-justification was the maker of excuses; excuses, ... 12&12 p.46, Step Four

For most of us, self-justification was the maker of excuses; excuses, of course, for drinking, and for all kinds of crazy and damaging conduct.

66.

... self-knowledge. BB p.7, Bill's Story

Surely this was the answer -- self-knowledge.

67.

... self-knowledge. BB p.39, More About Alcoholism

But the actual or potential alcoholic, with hardly an exception, will be absolutely unable to stop drinking on the basis of self-knowledge.

68.

Self-knowledge would fix it. BB p.40, More About Alcoholism

Self-knowledge would fix it.

69.

... self-knowledge would not help in those strange ... BB p.42, More About Alcoholism

I saw that will power and self-knowledge would not help in those strange mental blank spots.

70.

... self-loathing. 12&12 p.45, Step Four

If temperamentally we are on the depressive side, we are apt to be swamped with guilt and self-loathing.

71.

... self, manifested in various ways, was what ... BB p.64, How It Works

Being convinced that self, manifested in various ways, was what had defeated us, we considered its common manifestations.

72.

... self-overhaul and meditation. 12&12 p.89, Step Ten

Many of us also like the experience of an occasional retreat from the outside world where we can quiet down for an undisturbed day or so of self-overhaul and meditation.

73.

... self-pity. 12&12 p.135, Tradition Two

The bleeding deacon is one who is just as surely convinced that the group cannot get along without him, who constantly connives for reelection to office, and who continues to be consumed with self-pity.

74.

... self-pity. BB p.8, Bill's Story

No words can tell of the loneliness and despair I found in that bitter morass of self-pity.

75.

... self-pity? BB p.62, How It Works

Whatever our protestations, are not most of us concerned with ourselves, our resentments, or our self-pity?

76.

... self-pity, and depression. 12&12 p.52, Step Four

The most common symptoms of emotional insecurity are worry, anger, self-pity, and depression.

77.

... self-pity, and hurt feelings, it was probable ... 12&12 p.59, Step Five

Because we were still bothered by fear, self-pity, and hurt feelings, it was probable we couldn't appraise ourselves fairly at all.

78.

... self-pity and resentment. BB p.15, Bill's Story

I was not too well at the time, and was plagued by waves of self-pity and resentment.

79.

... self-pity, and unwarranted pride. 12&12 p.47, Step Four

But in A.A. we slowly learned that something had to be done about our vengeful resentments, self-pity, and unwarranted pride.

80.

... self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives. BB p.86, Into Action

Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives.

81.

... self-pity made them killjoys. BB p.105, To Wives

If, on the other hand, they took nothing, their self-pity made them killjoys.

82.

... self-pity, misunderstanding and fear. BB p.104, To Wives

We have had long rendezvous with hurt pride, frustration, self-pity, misunderstanding and fear.

83.

... self-pity oozing from every pore, and inflict ... 12&12 p.81, Step Eight

What happens when we wallow in depression, self-pity oozing from every pore, and inflict that upon those about us?

84.

... self-pity or delusions of personal grandeur. 12&12 p.58, Step Five

All of us saw, for example, that we lacked honesty and tolerance, that we were beset at times by attacks of self-pity or delusions of personal grandeur.

85.

... self-pity, or foolish decisions. BB p.88, Into Action

We are then in much less danger of excitement, fear, anger, worry, self-pity, or foolish decisions.

86.

... self-pity, or hurt pride -- did the same ... 12&12 p.90, Step Ten

Other kinds of disturbances -- jealousy, envy, self-pity, or hurt pride -- did the same thing.

87.

... self-pity, self-justification or resentful criticism. BB p.127, The Family Afterward

These family talks will be constructive if they can be carried on without heated argument, self-pity, self-justification or resentful criticism.

88.

... self-pity, vanity and all the things which ... BB p.116, To Wives

89.

... self-pity, we step on the toes of ... BB p.62, How It Works

Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate.

90.

... self-pity will disappear. BB p.84, Into Action

That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear.

91.

... self-pitying. BB p.61, How It Works

He becomes angry, indignant, self-pitying.

92.

... self-preservation, duty, and love, it is not ... 12&12 p.151, Tradition Five

Under these compulsions of self-preservation, duty, and love, it is not strange that our Society has concluded that it has but one high mission -- to carry the A.A. message to those who don't know there's a way out.

93.

... self-preservation, they seem bent upon self-destruction. 12&12 p.64, Step Six

Defying their instinctive desire for self-preservation, they seem bent upon self-destruction.

94.

... self-propulsion. BB p.60, How It Works

Most people try to live by self-propulsion.

95.

... self-reliance and contentment. BB xxxi(xxix), The Doctor's Opinion

From a trembling, despairing, nervous wreck, had emerged a man brimming over with self-reliance and contentment.

96.

... self-reliance failed us? BB p.68, How It Works

Wasn't it because self-reliance failed us?

97.

... self-reliance first, a genuine reliance upon a ... 12&12 p.72, Step Seven

As long as we placed self-reliance first, a genuine reliance upon a Higher Power was out of the question.

98.

Self-reliance was good as far as it ... BB p.68, How It Works

Self-reliance was good as far as it went, but it didn't go far enough.

99.

... self-respect to hundreds of men and women ... BB p.572(574), Appendix V, The Religious View on A.A.

100.

... self-restraint. 12&12 p.91, Step Ten

Our first objective will be the development of self-restraint.

101.

... self-restraint. 12&12 p.181, Tradition Eleven

Considering this explosive factor, we knew we had to exercise self-restraint.

102.

... self-restraint has become automatic. 12&12 p.91, Step Ten

For we can neither think nor act to good purpose until the habit of self-restraint has become automatic.

103.

... self-restraint, honest analysis of what is involved, ... 12&12 p.91, Step Ten

In all these situations we need self-restraint, honest analysis of what is involved, a willingness to admit when the fault is ours, and an equal willingness to forgive when the fault is elsewhere.

104.

... self-revealing accounts in bad taste. BB p.29, There Is A Solution

We hope no one will consider these self-revealing accounts in bad taste.

105.

Self-righteous anger also can be very enjoyable. 12&12 p.67, Step Six

Self-righteous anger also can be very enjoyable.

106.

... self-righteous folk? 12&12 p.90, Step Ten

Can't we be properly angry with self-righteous folk?

107.

... self-righteously imposes its will upon the rest. 12&12 p.37, Step Three

Every such pressure group, if it is strong enough, self-righteously imposes its will upon the rest.

108.

... self-righteousness can underlie the smallest act or ... 12&12 p.94, Step Ten

This subtle and elusive kind of self-righteousness can underlie the smallest act or thought.

109.

... self-righteousness or grandiosity, our reaction will be ... 12&12 p.45, Step Four

If, however, our natural disposition is inclined to self-righteousness or grandiosity, our reaction will be just the opposite.

110.

... self-righteousness that clung to so many 'believers' ... 12&12 p.30, Step Two

We gloated over the hypocrisy, bigotry, and crushing self-righteousness that clung to so many 'believers' even in their Sunday best.

111.

Self-righteousness, the very thing that we had ... 12&12 p.30, Step Two

Self-righteousness, the very thing that we had contemptuously condemned in others, was our own besetting evil.

112.

... self-righteousness while trying to enforce upon the ... 12&12 p.176, Tradition Ten

Others fell apart because of sheer self-righteousness while trying to enforce upon the rest of mankind some millennium of their own specification.

113.

... self sacrifice and unselfish, constructive action. BB p.93, Working With Others

To be vital, faith must be accompanied by self sacrifice and unselfish, constructive action.

114.

... self-sacrifice for others, he could not survive ... BB p.15, Bill's Story

For if an alcoholic failed to perfect and enlarge his spiritual life through work and self-sacrifice for others, he could not survive the certain trials and low spots ahead.

115.

... self-sacrificing. BB p.61, How It Works

He may be kind, considerate, patient, generous; even modest and self-sacrificing.

116.

... self-sacrificing. BB p.105, To Wives

We have been unselfish and self-sacrificing.

117.

... self-satisfied. 12&12 p.72, Step Seven

True, most of us thought good character was desirable, but obviously good character was something one needed to get on with the business of being self-satisfied.

118.

... self-searching becomes a regular habit, until he ... 12&12 p.88, Step Ten

For the wise have always known that no one can make much of his life until self-searching becomes a regular habit, until he is able to admit and accept what he finds, and until he patiently and persistently tries to correct what is wrong.

119.

... self-searching is the means by which we ... 12&12 p.98, Step Eleven

As we have seen, self-searching is the means by which we bring new vision, action, and grace to bear upon the dark and negative side of our natures.

120.

... self-searching, the leveling of our pride, the ... BB p.25, There Is A Solution

Almost none of us liked the self-searching, the leveling of our pride, the confession of shortcomings which the process requires for its successful consummation.

121.

... self-seeker even when trying to be kind? BB p.61, How It Works

Is he not really a self-seeker even when trying to be kind?

122.

... self-seeking. 12&12 p.151, Tradition Five

If a group of doctors possessed a cancer cure, they might be conscience-stricken if they failed their mission through self-seeking.

123.

... self-seeking. 12&12 p.183, Tradition Eleven

It is more than a denial of self-seeking.

124.

... self-seeking and frightened? BB p.67, How It Works

Where had we been selfish, dishonest, self-seeking and frightened?

125.

... self-seeking, and self-pity, we step on the ... BB p.62, How It Works

Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate.

126.

... self-seeking motives. BB p.86, Into Action

Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives.

127.

Self-seeking will slip away. BB p.84, Into Action

Self-seeking will slip away.

128.

... self-serving demand of God for replies, is ... 12&12 p.103, Step Eleven

The A.A., or indeed any man, who tries to run his life rigidly by this kind of prayer, by this self-serving demand of God for replies, is a particularly disconcerting individual.

129.

... self-sufficiency. 12&12 p.37, Step Three

Should his own image in the mirror be too awful to contemplate (and it usually is), he might first take a look at the results normal people are getting from self-sufficiency.

130.

... self-sufficiency and all will to resist its ... 12&12 p.21, Step One

Alcohol, now become the rapacious creditor, bleeds us of all self-sufficiency and all will to resist its demands.

131.

... self-sufficiency is not paying off. 12&12 p.37, Step Three

The philosophy of self-sufficiency is not paying off.

132.

... self-sufficiency, prejudice, and defiance often prove more ... 12&12 p.28, Step Two

The roadblocks of indifference, fancied self-sufficiency, prejudice, and defiance often prove more solid and formidable for these people than any erected by the unconvinced agnostic or even the militant atheist.

133.

... self-sufficiency, that we began to feel humility ... 12&12 p.72, Step Seven

It was only at the end of a long road, marked by successive defeats and humiliations, and the final crushing of our self-sufficiency, that we began to feel humility as something more than a condition of groveling despair.

134.

... self-sufficiency who have cut themselves off, those ... 12&12 p.28, Step Two

There will be those who have drifted into indifference, those filled with self-sufficiency who have cut themselves off, those who have become prejudiced against religion, and those who are downright defiant because God has failed to fulfill their demands.

135.

... self-sufficiency would solve our problems. BB p.52, We Agnostics

We agnostics and atheists were sticking to the idea that self-sufficiency would solve our problems.

136.

... self-sufficient man or woman. 12&12 p.29, Step Two

Now we come to another kind of problem: the intellectually self-sufficient man or woman.

137.

Self-supporting alcoholics? 12&12 p.160, Tradition Seven

Self-supporting alcoholics?

138.

... self-supporting, declining outside contributions." 12&12 p.160, Tradition Seven

"Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions."

139.

... self-supporting, declining outside contributions. BB p.562(564), Appendix I, The A.A. Tradition

Seven -- Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.

140.

... self-supporting through our own contributions. Grapevine, Preamble

There are no dues or fees for AA membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions.

141.

... self-survey. 12&12 p.61, Step Five

The real tests of the situation are your own willingness to confide and your full confidence in the one with whom you share your first accurate self-survey.

142.

... self-survey and criticism. 12&12 p.88, Step Ten

More experienced people, of course, in all times and places have practiced unsparing self-survey and criticism.

143.

... self, that I may better do Thy ... BB p.63, How It Works

Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy will.

144.

... self unconsciously blind themselves to their liabilities. 12&12 p.46, Step Four

This is because people who are driven by pride of self unconsciously blind themselves to their liabilities.

145.

... self which later placed us in a ... BB p.62, How It Works

Sometimes they hurt us, seemingly without provocation, but we invariably find that at some time in the past we have made decisions based on self which later placed us in a position to be hurt.

146.

... self-will, and are careful to make no ... BB p.87, Into Action

We ask especially for freedom from self-will, and are careful to make no request for ourselves only.

147.

... self-will, and has suffered enough under its ... 12&12 p.38, Step Three

Each of us has had his own near-fatal encounter with the juggernaut of self-will, and has suffered enough under its weight to be willing to look for something better.

148.

... self-will and run the show ourselves. BB p.76, Into Action

We attempt to sweep away the debris which has accumulated out of our effort to live on self-will and run the show ourselves.

149.

... self-will can hardly be a success. BB p.60, How It Works

The first requirement is that we be convinced that any life run on self-will can hardly be a success.

150.

... self-will, do we misuse this gift for ... 12&12 p.117, Step Twelve

So our question will be this: How, by ignorance, compulsion, and self-will, do we misuse this gift for our own destruction?

151.

... self-will had driven everybody away and our ... 12&12 p.116, Step Twelve

But when self-will had driven everybody away and our isolation had become complete, it caused us to play the big shot in cheap barrooms and then fare forth alone on the street to depend upon the charity of passersby.

152.

... self-will has blocked you off from Him. BB p.71, How It Works

We hope you are convinced now that God can remove whatever self-will has blocked you off from Him.

153.

... self-will may slam it shut again, as ... 12&12 p.35, Step Three

Though self-will may slam it shut again, as it frequently does, it will always respond the moment we again pick up the key of willingness.

154.

... self-will run riot, though he usually doesn't ... BB p.62, How It Works

They arise out of ourselves, and the alcoholic is an extreme example of self-will run riot, though he usually doesn't think so.

155.

... self-will which has always blocked the entry ... 12&12 p.34, Step Three

Like all the remaining Steps, Step Three calls for affirmative action, for it is only by action that we can cut away the self-will which has always blocked the entry of God -- or, if you like, a Higher Power -- into our lives.

156.

... self without His aid. BB p.62, How It Works

And there often seems no way of entirely getting rid of self without His aid.

Passages from the Big Book Alcoholics Anonymous and the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions are reprinted with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc. The A.A. Preamble, copyright © The A.A. Grapevine, Inc., is reprinted with permission. Permission to reprint does not in any way imply affiliation with or endorsement by either Alcoholics Anonymous or The A.A. Grapevine, Inc.

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