The AA programme asks simple things: go here, talk to him, talk to her, write that down, read it out, pray, think about this, don't think about that, go to work, clean your home, help out.
Either the action is being taken or it is not.
If it is not (barring physical infirmity or psychosis), the reason is simple: the individual in question is doing what they want to do instead of what is being instructed or suggested.
The technical term for this is self-will.
Often, an individual, when questioned, will come up with a thousand reasons why they have not taken the action, but nine hundred and ninety-nine boil down to this: they had the thought, 'I will not do this', and they followed it.
How do I know this? Self-examination! This is exactly what is happening when I do not take an action: I have decided that my own thoughts are the god I will obey, so if I have a thought, I obey it, in breach of whatever instructions I have been given.
Someone might ask, 'but what can I do to break this cycle?' Unfortunately, I don't know. If a person wants to do whatever their mind tells them, that is up to them. When they're done and are willing to follow instructions regardless of what their mind tells them, then we're in business. When I was done following my own instructions, I became willing, and the rest is history.
Either the action is being taken or it is not.
If it is not (barring physical infirmity or psychosis), the reason is simple: the individual in question is doing what they want to do instead of what is being instructed or suggested.
The technical term for this is self-will.
Often, an individual, when questioned, will come up with a thousand reasons why they have not taken the action, but nine hundred and ninety-nine boil down to this: they had the thought, 'I will not do this', and they followed it.
How do I know this? Self-examination! This is exactly what is happening when I do not take an action: I have decided that my own thoughts are the god I will obey, so if I have a thought, I obey it, in breach of whatever instructions I have been given.
Someone might ask, 'but what can I do to break this cycle?' Unfortunately, I don't know. If a person wants to do whatever their mind tells them, that is up to them. When they're done and are willing to follow instructions regardless of what their mind tells them, then we're in business. When I was done following my own instructions, I became willing, and the rest is history.