December 21 — Next!
Early sobriety resets your expectations fast. Once you start trying to help other drunks, you’re going to meet a lot of people. Some will listen. Some will swear they’re done. A lot of them will drink anyway.
Bill was frustrated early on because none of the people he tried to help stayed sober. What finally landed wasn’t their failure — it was that he did. He stayed sober. That’s when it clicked. Helping others wasn’t about results. It was about staying out of himself. Service became the foundation of his sobriety, not a scoreboard.
Sometimes you’ll spend days, weeks, even months with a drunk. Long talks. Big feelings. Then, in a heartbeat, he drinks and disappears. Sometimes he won’t answer the phone. Sometimes he won’t want to see you again. It can feel pointless, and yeah, your feelings might get hurt.
That’s when the instruction is simple and uncomfortable: Next! We don’t chase. We don’t argue. We don’t take it personally. We immediately look for another alcoholic to work with. Not because the last one didn’t matter, but because he already did his job. He kept you sober. He kept you out of your own head. He got you out of your own way.
Not everyone stays. But everyone helps. So don’t quit. Just keep moving. Next!
When working with others didn’t go the way you hoped, how did it affect your sobriety — and what helped you stay right-sized?
