"I woke up. This had to be stopped. I saw I could not take so much as one drink. I was through forever. Before then, I had written lots of sweet promises, but my wife happily observed that this time I meant business. And so I did.
Shortly afterward I came home drunk. There had been no fight. Where had been my high resolve? I simply didn’t know. It hadn’t even come to mind. Someone had pushed a drink my way, and I had taken it. Was I crazy? I began to wonder, for such an appalling lack of perspective seemed near being just that." (Chapter 1, Big Book)
Appalling lack of perspective
Hammer man (HM) (read page 23, Big Book)
- The small relief (from the hammer-hitting) looms large
- The major consequence (the worsening of the problem) recedes into the background
- Relief 'wins' over consequences
- He continues the behaviour
Jaywalker (JW) (read pages 37 to 37, Big Book)
- The small thrill looms large
- The major consequence (back broken) recedes into the background
- Thrill 'wins' over consequences
- He continues the behaviour
Bill: the pleasure of a drink (relief plus thrill) wins over the consequences
HM: the relief wins over the consequences
JW: the thrill wins over the consequences
HM + JW = Bill