Why do I do things the hard way? For example, the other day I was lying awake in bed and kept slipping into a sexually explicit fantasy. I would catch myself, stop, pray, find myself slipping back into it again, catch myself, stop, pray, and so on. Finally I got out of bed, but only after quite a bit of struggle to keep out of the fantasy. I called one other sexaholic and got his machine, but by that time I was okay, and decided it wasn’t necessary to try harder to connect (also it was fairly late at night, and I didn’t want to “bother” anyone).

As I was thinking about this today, about whether I should speak with another sexaholic to purge this fantasy out of my system, I remembered the words of my sponsor, who quotes his sponsor: “Step Ten says PROMPTLY. When you are struggling, promptly call another sexaholic.”

Then I thought about my situation. There I was, in bed, with my phone less than a foot away from my head, struggling with this fantasy all by myself. Duh! All I needed to do was pick up the phone and “promptly” call someone in SA. I have a list of people I can call late at night, and they’ve given me permission. So why didn’t I do it?

Simply enough, I forgot. Sexaholism is a forgetting disease. By writing this message (and talking about “promptly” at meetings and with others), I can help myself remember. Next time I’m struggling with a fantasy, call a sexaholic. It’s really that simple, but I have a habit of making it difficult. Progress, not perfection.