“There is a solution. Almost none of us liked the self-searching, the leveling of our pride, the confession of shortcomings which the process requires for its successful consummation. But we saw that it really worked in others, and we had come to believe in the hopelessness and futility of life as we had been living it. When, therefore, we were approached by those in whom the problem had been solved, there was nothing left for us but to pick up the simple kit of spiritual tools laid at our feet. We have found much of heaven and we have been rocketed into a fourth dimension of existence of which we had not even dreamed.” (Big Book)
Pride is false attachment to anything transient. Being sponsored is very tough on the pride. Pride says, “I got this.” A sponsor says: “You don’t got this.” Pride says, “I understand this.” A sponsor asks: “Do you? Try again.” And then you get to question everything. Every idea, every belief, every thought, every behaviour. Why is this necessary? When things are not working, the problem could lie anywhere, and everything is connected. None of this is personal. What is being challenged is not the person but the ideas, the beliefs, the thoughts, the behaviours. This is certainly necessary when one is new. It is also necessary when there is a crisis or the realisation that one has gotten majorly off track. It is also necessary when one first switches sponsors. After that, things get a little easier, as the new system settles down, but there are going to be doozies where, to step up to the next level, one has to let go of old ideas, including those that one has ‘learned’ ‘in AA’. The process often also requires reading the AA literature as though it has never been read before, to see what really says (which is usually at odds with what one has learned in meetings). It usually turns out it never has been read before. There is a difference between letting the words pass through one’s mind, with or without regurgitation, and reading. There’s a difference between reading to find out what the person is really saying, with no preconceptions, and imposing on what one reads what one wants to believe.
“But the program of action, though entirely sensible, was pretty drastic. It meant I would have to throw several lifelong conceptions out of the window. That was not easy.” (Big Book)
As long as one can learn to toughen up when having an idea challenged (after all, the idea is not the person, and being wrong does not mean one lacks capability), the process can actually become enjoyable and interesting. I have actually found it to be a great relief to be rid both of unhelpful ideas and ideas that I had accepted at face value without ever thinking them through.