Assuming that this program won’t work for us is probably the most obvious lie that we tell ourselves because it is staring us in the face the moment we so much as think about joining a 12 Step program.  The irony is that the 12 Steps have a better track record than pretty-much any other type of addiction treatment out there.  When I first started coming to OA, I felt completely defeated and helpless.  So it is no wonder that when I was first introduced to the Big Book, one of the first things that jumped out at my self-absorbed mind was the line, “Rarely have we seen a person who has thoroughly followed our path.”  I figured that this was referring to me.  I would be the one exception.  Somehow, my addiction was way worse than anyone else’s, and this program, which has literally helped millions of people, could not possibly help me.  (Could you tell that one of my favorite pastimes back then was self-sabotage?)  My sponsor at the time told me to cross out the word “Rarely” and write-in the word “Never.”  Somehow, it helped…a lot.  Twenty-plus years later, I discovered that the only word of the entire Big Book that author Bill W. wished he had changed was that word “Rarely” to “Never.”   And probably for the same reason why this simple change helped me – – it prevented my sick addict mind from using its own erroneous thinking as an excuse for not even bothering to try.  The real key to this sentence, though, is in the second half of it: “…who has thoroughly followed our path”.  No one who follows all the instructions and takes all the suggestions fails.  No one.  If you do the work, you will reap the rewards.

Moral of the story?  If that word “Rarely” bothers you, change it.  Even Bill W. would approve!