Chad P Step 3 at As Bill Sees It 04-05-26Chad P Step 3 at As Bill Sees It 04-05-26
Mad Dog Recovery AA Speakers
AA speaker Chad P from New Jersey talks about Step 3, explaining how self-will, spiritual malady and a genuine surrender shifted him from endless failed attempts to stop drinking into long-term sobriety. His share focuses less on war stories and more on how the AA programme aims at inner change rather than just avoiding alcohol.
40:41•7 Apr 2026
Chad P on Step 3: Letting Go of Self-Will After the Quitting Years
Episode Overview
- Relying on meetings alone left Chad dry but miserable, and nearly out of AA despite staying away from alcohol.
- He came to see Step 3 as a real decision backed by understanding what keeps his life and will from any higher power.
- Chad explains selfishness and self-centredness as a constant attempt to fix an inner problem by rearranging outer circumstances.
- Treating the spiritual malady through the steps allowed self-will to lessen and what he calls “God consciousness” to grow.
- The AA programme is presented as a way of life aimed at freedom from self, rather than just a method for not drinking.
“I didn’t work the steps because I believed in God. I worked the steps because I believed in alcoholism.”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol? For Chad P from New Jersey, it wasn’t one dramatic rock bottom, but years of “quitting” that never stuck. Speaking to the Sheffield Sunday As Bill Sees It group, Chad shares how he went from serial relapser to 23 years sober, and why Step 3 became the turning point he never knew he needed.
Chad is upfront that he’s “going to spend very little time talking about drinking” and instead focuses on what his reading from *As Bill Sees It* and the Big Book say about self-will, spiritual malady and genuine surrender.
He explains how he once thought Step 3 was just “say the silly prayer and then go on and do a fourth step”, and how a blunt two-hour chat with a fellow AA member pushed him to see that his plan to leave AA while staying sober was a fantasy. You’ll hear Chad unpack the idea that alcoholism is hopeless on self-will alone, and that “selfishness, self-centredness… is the root of our troubles”.
He jokes about using ChatGPT to hunt down Big Book quotes but keeps bringing it back to a very human struggle: trying to fix an inner emptiness with outer solutions like money, relationships and reputation. By tracing his journey from resentment-fuelled dry time to a spiritual awakening “as a result of the 12 steps”, Chad speaks directly to people who are sober but restless, bored or quietly miserable.
His message is simple but challenging: the AA programme is less about staying dry and more about “getting free of self-will” so that a relationship with a higher power can actually grow. If you’ve ever thought “meetings aren’t working like they used to” or wondered why you’re still so stressed sober, this share gives plenty to chew on. Could your real problem be less the drink, and more the way you’re trying to run the show?
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.
Related Episodes
Similar episodes from other shows in the catalogue.