How the AA Promises Can Change Your Life

You’ve probably heard about Alcoholics Anonymous. After all, it has branches in 180 nations worldwide and boasts over two million members.[1] You may not, however, fully understand the hope and transformation it can offer.

Whether you’re struggling with alcohol addiction yourself or supporting a loved one, AA offers more than just a path away from drinking. It offers a new life free from addiction. The promises of AA shine a light on your potential future should you commit to the program and work the Twelve Steps.

Alcoholics Anonymous

Alcoholics Anonymous, or AA, is a worldwide organization that helps people struggling with alcoholism.[2] The program is built around the Twelve Steps, which focuses on taking personal responsibility, growing spiritually, and connecting with others in the recovery community. These steps are outlined in the Big Book, an important component of AA. It offers advice on how to deal with addiction and provides hope through the experiences of others.

A key part of AA is the sponsorship system, where someone with more experience in recovery helps guide you through the process of getting and staying sober. Sponsors offer support, share their own stories, and provide encouragement. Your sponsor often becomes one of the important parts of your recovery journey.

AA meetings are also an important part of the program. At meetings, members come together to talk openly about their struggles and progress in an anonymous space. AA is open to anyone who wants help with their drinking problem, and its anonymous nature allows members to share without fear of judgment. Today, AA remains one of the most well-known and widely used support systems for anyone facing alcohol addiction.

The Big Book

The “Big Book” is the main text used in AA.[3]  In it, you’ll find a detailed explanation of the Twelve Steps and the Twelve Traditions that form the backbone of AA. It was written to provide a roadmap for you to follow in your journey toward sobriety.

The first part of the book explains the nature of alcoholism, describing it as a disease that can affect anyone, and it emphasizes the importance of admitting powerlessness over alcohol as the first step to recovery.

The Big Book also contains a collection of personal stories from AA members who have struggled with alcoholism. These stories provide real accounts of what it’s like to battle addiction and the challenges many people like you have faced and will face during recovery. They serve as both inspiration and proof that sobriety is possible.

Additionally, the Big Book dives deep into the spiritual nature of recovery. The book does not subscribe to any specific religion. Instead, it encourages a broad, open-minded view of spirituality. This gives you the power to find and walk your own path.

The Big Book also covers practical advice for overcoming daily challenges and temptations. It provides guidance on building a support network and finding sponsorship. The goal is to provide a complete approach that supports you through the emotional, psychological, and practical aspects of getting sober and maintaining a sober existence.

The 12 Steps

The Twelve Steps are presented in the Big Book, specifically at the start of the chapter titled “How It Works.” These are the Twelve Steps, as officially communicated by AA:[4]

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being, the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. We’re entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly ask Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. I made a list of all the persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends for them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when doing so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and, when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

The AA Promises

There is no official list of promises in the Big Book. However, members often refer to a passage from the Big Book, Chapter 6: Into Action, as “The Promises.” Here is the passage:[5]

“If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are halfway through. We are going to have new freedom and happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity, and we will know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. 

That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us. We will intuitively know how to handle situations that used to baffle us. We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.

Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us — sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them.”

The First Step

Alcohol addiction is devastating, and recovery can seem impossible. That’s why Alcoholics Anonymous is so crucial if you’re struggling with dependency. But even for all its benefits, sometimes AA on its own isn’t enough, at least at the start of your recovery journey. That’s where a dedicated treatment center can help give you the tools you need to succeed.