As we enter the final part of our emotional sobriety workshop I thought I would share something that I found on sponsorship and being a sponsor.

Twelve Steps of a Sponsor

1. I will not help you stay and wallow in limbo.
2. I will help you grow, to become more productive, by your definition.
3. I will help you become more autonomous, more loving of yourself, more excited, less sensitive, more free to continue becoming the authority of your own living.
4. I cannot give you your dreams or “fix you up” simply because I cannot.
5. I cannot give you growth or grow for you. You must grow for yourself, by facing reality, grim as it may be at times.
6. I cannot take away your loneliness our pain.
7. I cannot sense your world for you, evaluate your goals, or tell you what is best for you in your world; you have your own world.
8. I cannot convince you of the crucial choice of choosing the scary uncertainty of growing over the safe misery of not growing.
9. I want to be with you and know you as a rich and growing friend; yet, I cannot get close to you when you choose not to grow.
10. When I begin to care for you out of pity, when I begin to lose trust in you, then I am toxic, bad and inhibiting for you and you for me.
11. You must know- my help is conditional. I will be there with you, hanging in there with you, as long as I continue to get even the slightest hints that you are trying to grow.
12. If you can accept all of this, then perhaps we can help each other to become what God meant us to be, mature adults, leaving childishness forever to little children.

Unsigned

Reference:

This is from The Central Bulletin (1992.)

The Central Bulletin was AA’s first news letter, published by Cleveland Central Committee of A.A. It is indexed on silkworth.net for historical & research purposes only.