Topic: Alcoholism Ego and Self

Topic: Alcoholism Ego and Self

Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This Primetime AA meeting-style share from Murph, recorded on Zoom, zeroes in on "alcoholism, ego and self" and why the first three steps form the bedrock of his recovery. Murph talks about alcoholism as something that is either treated or untreated within a 24-hour window.

For him, being treated means keeping God in his daily consciousness and aligning his will with what he calls "God's will" so he can live a life "beyond anything that I could ever imagine." He stresses that the drinking isn't the core issue; "the behaviour is not the problem.

The problem is the thought that precedes the behaviour." You’ll hear him unpack how trauma fed his ego and created a false self that pushed him away from people, God and his true self. He uses everyday examples—like swearing off Facebook, porn or gossip—to show why behaviour-only fixes rarely stick, comparing them to cutting a single branch off a diseased tree and expecting the whole tree to die.

The heart of the talk sits in the first three steps: full surrender, dropping reservations about living "a normal life" again, and opening up to the idea of a personal God. Murph explains how repeated attempts to do the steps on "Murph's will" left him stuck, and how painstakingly building a relationship with a higher power finally allowed him to tackle the later steps without fear.

His stories about his father, damaged by war and loss, and his brother, who found freedom in prison through AA, show how changing perception can melt long-held resentments. Murph ends by sharing his daily practice of Step Ten and Eleven and his simple test for progress: "Throughout this process, with the help of Primetime, I love Murph.

And I love my life so much." If you're wrestling with ego, self-talk and the early steps, could this be the perspective shift you’ve been waiting for?