The wanting monster wants.
It gets me to want what it wants.
I am then in a state of deficit.
I am frightened I will not get what I want.
Trying to get what I want is confusing, uncertain, and tiring.
It also causes conflict with others.
When I do not get what I want I am frustrated.
When I do get what I want I am disappointed.
Despair bubbles below the surface like magma.
The first requirement is that we be convinced that any life run on self-will can hardly be a success. (Page 60, Alcoholics Anonymous)
Before I take Step Three, I have to be convinced that this whole system fails. That is the tether line that keeps the hot-air balloon tethered to the ground.
You can blow as much hot air into the envelope (the balloon-like bit of the hot-air balloon); the balloon cannot lift off because it is tethered.
God will remain almost entirely theoretical whilst the wanting monster is still calling the shots.