This is the issue that so many people dismiss when falling into the same Freud vs. Jung “complex” as even they seemed to have done. First of all, Freud’s psychoanalysis would not have turned the 4th Step into the 1st Step. In fact, this program is LOADED with Freud all over it. When in the Big Book they make reference to “We needed to get down to causes and conditions” you are talking about analyzing exactly what is causing this drinking issue. When we turn our will and our lives over in Step 3 we have decided that based on analyis nothing but a Higher Power can help [us]. When I do a Sixth Step I am forced to take a look at my character defects and while I may initially not see them all, they usually come from Step 4 and an analysis of where our behavior comes from. When further on in the Program we continue asking for character defects to be removed in Step Seven becasue they continuously pop up we usually do a Fourth Step on something, quite impromptu but done none the less, and there we see that Freudianesque analysis again.
Shall I go on? I would like to reassure the world who believes Freud and AA could not coexist, that it is much more along the lines of people like C. Jung existing because of Freud. What was their disagreement? One wanted to expand while the other wanted to increase in depth? Individuals who discount Freud and applaud only Jung disregard where Jung even began thinking that a Spiritual solution was the only way. That came from analysis. Analysis he gained studying under Freud. The medical model is more binary than psychology. That being said, please do not discount where individuals gain their knowledge, neither their own thinking and how they apply it to their lives. If you choose the way of entropy to exponentially grow in all directions, my suggestion to you is to study Jung, but take a look at Freud and how he analyzed things. You may just see what made Jung decide Spirituality is the only way to go for an Alcoholic or other 12-Step Program Taker. And who knows, it may be the answer to someone asking the simple question of “Why?”
Creating motivation that flows seamlessly from our daily routines into our work, relationships, and broader life is about embracing a holistic approach—where the mind, body, and spirit work in harmony to fuel lasting drive and fulfillment.
1. Start with Purpose
Motivation springs from meaning. Connect your daily tasks, career goals, and personal relationships to a deeper sense of purpose. Reflect on what truly matters to you and regularly align your actions with your values and aspirations. When your life feels purposeful, motivation naturally follows.
2. Cultivate Healthy Habits
Physical well-being directly impacts motivation. Build simple, repeatable routines—like regular exercise, balanced nutrition, and enough sleep—that energize you throughout the day. Good health boosts your mood, sharpens your mind, and increases resilience to stress, allowing motivation to ripple into every area of your life.
3. Practice Mindfulness
Self-awareness is the bridge connecting all aspects of life. Pause regularly to check in with your thoughts, emotions, and progress. Mindful reflection helps you adapt flexibly, preventing burnout at work and improving the quality of your relationships by making you more present and engaged.
4. Build Supportive Connections
Surround yourself with positive, motivating people. Relationships that encourage growth and understanding strengthen your drive, whether at home or in your career. Celebrate achievements big and small, offer support, and openly communicate—this kind of network helps motivation thrive and transfers energy from one sphere of life to another.
5. Set Boundaries and Goals
Balance is key. Set clear, attainable goals in both your personal and professional life and give yourself permission to say no to overcommitments. Celebrate progress, not just perfection. By maintaining boundaries, you protect your energy and motivation, ensuring it’s available for what matters most.
6. Integrate and Reflect
Holistic motivation means tying all parts of your life together. Reflect regularly on how actions in one area influence others: learning a new skill at work can build confidence for personal projects; caring for your health can deepen your connections at home. Recognize these links and use them to create upward momentum in all aspects of your life.
Motivation isn’t just a fleeting feeling—it’s an integrated force built by daily habits, meaningful connections, and the pursuit of purpose. By nurturing your mind, body, and relationships together, you create a cycle where motivation continually renews itself—helping you approach success as a whole, fulfilledled person.
Unlocking your potential and achieving ambitious goals—whether personal or within your organization—requires more than passion and strategy. Too often, individuals and businesses unintentionally sabotage their progress by neglecting the human side of goal achievement. For mission-driven organizations and leaders, shifting the focus from business priorities to prioritizing people is key to sustained growth and breakthrough results. Here’s how to leverage the principles of design, craft, develop, engage, elevate, and embrace to create systems and organizations that empower people, not just profit.
1. Design: Create with People in Mind
Every meaningful journey begins with conscious design. This means intentionally crafting environments, processes, and systems that put people at the center.
Map out systems that value well-being, collaboration, and creativity.
Involve diverse perspectives early, ensuring that solutions reflect the needs and aspirations of your team.
Design spaces—physical and virtual—that inspire connection and engagement.
2. Craft: Build Thoughtfully
Crafting is about paying attention to details and iterating on what works.
Set clear, human-centered goals that go beyond financial metrics.
Regularly review and refine workflows to remove friction points that cause frustration or burnout.
Use feedback not as criticism, but as material for improvement.
3. Develop: Invest in Growth
People thrive where development is both encouraged and resourced.
Offer meaningful learning opportunities at every level, from technical training to leadership development.
Develop mentorship and peer coaching programs.
Measure “people progress”—gains in skills, satisfaction, and motivation—alongside business KPIs.
4. Engage: Foster Genuine Connection
Engagement happens when people feel seen, heard, and valued.
Facilitate open dialogues where team members can share challenges, insights, and ideas.
Recognize individuals for both effort and innovation, not just traditional performance.
Foster a sense of belonging by celebrating differences and shared values.
5. Elevate: Lift Each Other Up
Great organizations focus on mutual support.
Empower team members with autonomy—trust them to make decisions and take calculated risks.
Create structures for cross-functional collaboration, allowing people to learn from each other.
Celebrate milestones and successes collectively, reinforcing the power of teamwork.
6. Embrace: Build Resilient Systems
Embracing means accepting and learning from setbacks, rather than letting them derail progress.
Implement feedback loops to continually refine systems and strategies.
Normalize conversations about challenges and failures—view them as opportunities to learn and grow.
Encourage a culture of adaptability so teams can pivot quickly and confidently in changing environments.
Building Human-Centric Systems: Practical Steps
Principle
Action Step
Impact on People
Design
Host collaborative workshops to co-create goals
Boosts ownership and alignment
Craft
Streamline processes with user input
Reduces stress and increases efficiency
Develop
Offer regular skill-building sessions
Grows confidence and capability
Engage
Recognize effort in real time
Increases sense of value and satisfaction
Elevate
Encourage team-led initiatives
Promotes leadership and engagement
Embrace
Debrief both wins and losses as a group
Builds trust and resilience
Why People-Centered Organizations Succeed
Organizations built on people-first principles experience higher engagement, lower turnover, and more innovative output. When you stop sabotaging your own goals by putting business metrics ahead of human experience, you create an environment where both individuals and the organization can flourish. A focus on design, craft, develop, engage, elevate, and embrace doesn’t just get you to your goals—it ensures you arrive as a stronger, happier, and more connected team.
By shifting your lens from “business only” to “people always,” you unlock the full potential of your organization—one human at a time.
The moment I choose for you, what you bring into my life, who you are, what you can be, what you mean, who you’ve been – anything that takes me from my space to invade yours – I lose all possibility of experiencing you. I believe in magic. I will always choose vanilla cake.
“Hi everyone, thank you for calling on me, all of you for your service, and everyone for choosing to be here today. My name is Lily and I am an alcoholic and an addict. As for why this works for me? I do not know. I can say it’s because of that ‘God-sized hole in my heart’ or maybe because I have a spiritual malady. It’s so many things but I know that whatever I tried before didn’t give me the peace of mind I have right now. I cannot fathom what my life could be like otherwise, and don’t want to. I wish I could walk you through a recording of what falling asleep in 2019 looked like. Because you see I have had “so-dryety” for what, 2014-2022? And it was not a nice time in my life. It was miserable. I can’t remember all of the things I did but aside from being miserable to be around I hurt myself like never before. Nothing to cover up my inability to find peace and not knowing how to find peace where I was. I want that agenda. God should give it me. I will continue waiting. But until then I will do what makes me feel good. What makes me smile. Saying I love you. Listening. Camera off. Sometimes speaking. Saying ‘I have no idea where this is going but…’ and then ‘I’m going to go ahead and pass… would you like to share with us tonight are you available?’.
For the record, Dr. Silkworth, you called it the phenomenon of craving. It is. I have an experience and it fits and then I cannot stop because I continue to believe it’s possible to reach again when it’s not. Like an alergy? Yeah, I simply don’t react to it like other people. I don’t know what it’s like to have fun drunk. I never had a good time but I did it. A lot of it. And then added more things, substracted things, had extra amounts of that and then one day said I’ll stop and did. ‘This is an open-meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous, ‘this is closed meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous.’ ‘I am sorry if you are here to observe for your course, this is a closed meeting of AA there are 24 hour open meetings all over the world try this number this url and you can find one. We’re sorry but this is a safe space for individuals who have a desire to stop drinking and stay sober.’ ‘Well, then give yourselves, your high power, and anyone you find pertinent to your sobriety and program a hand for the chips that you do hold or are working on.’ ‘If we can have a moment of silence for the still sick and sufferring both inside and outside of the rooms, and everyone caiught in the way of this horrible disease through no fault of their own – followed by the 7th Step Prayer: My Creator, I am now willing that You should have all of me, good and bad. I pray that You now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows. Grant me strength, as I go out from here, to do Your bidding.Amen.‘
It is a few days late. On June 10, 2025 Alcoholics Anonymous made 90 years of continuously “helping” people. I am not going into “saved my life” or “changed my life” or “I have a life because of AA.” It has created space, held space, in many ways. It’s been difficult, and trying, and picks at you, it even disregards the scabs because in the end they don’t matter. Here’s Dr. Bob’s Farewell Letter. “Who wouldv’t thunk it!” “Thanks to the benefits of this fellowship I have not had the desire or needed to pick up a drink today.” And there is a lot of weight behind that statement. A drink does a lot. It does so much. It does too much. “Drinking was only but a symptom. We had to get down to causes and conditions” (AAWS, 2012).
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