The First Step of Alcoholics Anonymous states, “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.”  The principle behind this first step is honesty.  Step One also is closely related to Right View in Buddhism.

Step One and Honesty

The first step is a simple (not easy) declaration of our complete defeat.  Looking out our addiction, we see that our behavior has centered around our addiction.  The first part of Step One, “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol,” is a look at the nature of our using.  Powerless is a strong word, and frightens many of us.  However, when we look at the way we use, powerless is indeed a fitting word.  When we drink and use, we lose all control and power.  Taking the first drink, pill, hit, etc., we immediately succumb to our own powerlessness, and give in to the power of the substance.

We also experience powerlessness with the mental obsession we have.  Even before we take the first drink, we are in constant thought of alcohol.  Our lives are centered around alcohol.  When we are not drinking, we are looking for the first drink.  We are preoccupied with alcohol, not only losing power of action but also power of thought over it.

When we work this first part of Step One, we are practicing rigorous self-honesty.  In order to see the nature of our powerlessness, we must be willing to set down the ego and be genuinely honest.  This honesty helps us see that true extent of our powerlessness.  As we honestly look at places we drank when we should not have, times we drank when it was inappropriate, and amounts we drank that we should not have, we recognize our powerlessness.

The second half of the First Step is “that our lives had become unmanageable.”  Many people read this the first time and misinterpret it.  What this is saying is not that our drinking had become unmanageable, but our lives.  Yes, our drinking is obviously unmanageable, but the point is that our entire life is unmanageable by ourselves.  When we look honestly at our lives, we see how unmanageable it has become.  Our entire lives are out of our own control.  With honesty, we are able to concede to our innermost selves that we are alcoholics and that our lives are unmanageable by our own control.

Step One and Right View

Right View and Step One are very closely related.  Right view is the practice of seeing things as they truly are.  The principle of honesty goes very well with Right View.  In Right View, we begin to see things as they really are.  When we are drinking and using, our perception is certainly disturbed.  We are not seeing things as they really are, although it seems real to us.

Practicing the First Step and Right View, we open our minds to seeing the world from a different perspective.  We look at our drinking and using, and we recognize the truth.  We see more clearly the nature of our addiction.  Rather than blaming everything on external issues, we recognize it is our own powerlessness that is the root of our suffering.

We also recognize how unmanageable our life has become.  This is not to say we recognize the need for a Higher Power in our lives; rather, we come to terms with the reality of our lives being out of control.  Often for some time, we have not been able to manage our lives.  Where we previously believed we were in complete control, our convictions change.

Right View is essential to the First Step of Alcoholics Anonymous because we must begin to see things more clearly.  We recognize the cause of our suffering is the addiction, powerlessness, and unmanageability.

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