Alex Medick

July 14, 2022

AA and the 12 Steps

You know the old saying, “you never really know what someone is going through?”

I’m probably one of the greatest case studies for this quote. 
On the outside, I have a great family, killer job, and we’re all healthy with a roof over our heads. Internally though, I face a lot of struggles with depression, anxiety, self-doubt, and just loneliness in general.

Don’t feel bad for me. It was one of those things where I didn’t realize I was combatting it all so much until I started going to therapy and doing the work. That helped open my eyes to my core issues, and now I’m working on healing and getting stronger.

I want to be the best version of myself. Not filled with self-doubt and fear. I want to conquer the fear and bust down doors.

I was thinking to myself when these revelations rose to awareness that if I’ve done this well in life with these mental roadblocks constantly getting in my way, imagine what I could accomplish if I worked on myself?

Dare I say, I could be unstoppable?

But self-improvement on my own wasn’t moving the needle the way I had hopped.

So about 1.5 – 2 weeks ago, a friend of mine who is in AA suggested that I join a group too. He knows that I am working on quitting alcohol and self-improvement and thought it would be a good place for me to check out.

Now, I know what you’re thinking.

Whoa – AA. This fucker has a deep problem. AA is fucking intense.

Maybe I do, maybe I don’t. But one thing I do know, after attending a bunch of meetings, is that AA has a really shitty rap. 
Honestly, AA is great. It’s full of caring, super kind people that all have two goals: be the best versions of themselves and help you achieve the same.

Admittedly, when I first went, I imagined I was walking into the Fight Club version of AA. You know, the one where Bob with the bitch tits holds me while we cry in one another’s arms.

**here's a clip if you have no idea what I'm talking about** 

I was wrong.

It was just positive people making positive statements. People genuinely cared about my story and wanted to help me achieve my best self.

It was a community. It was selflessness. It was great. 
Between AA and Therapy, I am already seeing a massive difference in my life performance – vast improvements in actions, critical thinking, productivity, and well… everything. 
I asked myself, “if I had the wrong vision of AA, what are the 12 Steps really like?”
I read through the traditional AA steps. They were okay… Not really my speed. But then, I turned to a junkie-comedian-turned-life-guru that we all know and love: Russell Brand.

His version of the 12 Steps was way more my style. 

The 12 Steps, the Russell Brand Version

  1. Are you a bit fucked?
  2. Could you not be fucked?
  3. Are you on your own going to Unfuck yourself?
  4. Write down all the things that are fucking you up or have ever fucked you up and don’t lie or leave anything else
  5. Honestly tell someone trustworthy about how fucked you are
  6. Well that’s revealed a lot of fucked up patterns do you wanna stop it? Seriously?
  7. Are you willing to live in a new way that’s not all about you and your previous fucked up stuff?
  8. Prepared to apologize to everyone for everything affected by you being so fucked up
  9. Now apologize. Unless that would make things worse.
  10. Watch out for fucked up thinking and behavior and be honest when it happens
  11. Stay connected to your new perspective
  12. Look at life less selfishly, be nice to everyone, help people if you can

If you’re thinking about AA, I highly recommend giving it a shot. Even if your drinking isn’t that bad, the community aspect of helping you optimize your life is killer.

You can find a list of online meetings here: https://aa-intergroup.org/meetings 

Until next time,

-AJM

About Alex Medick

Dad, Entrepreneur // Building INSIDE