I think I took it literally when I was new to AA. What it meant to me was that I needed to be rigorously honest in the way I lived my life, and with myself, and that I needed to completely give myself to the simple program if I wanted to recover.
I was out of options. I was in what a professor of psychiatry and expert in alcohol addiction described as a small group at the most severe end of the alcohol use disorder spectrum for who some kind of conversion experience was the only hope. And he said AA were the experts in that.
Maybe that was the first practical application of self honesty, recognising the true nature of my situation, swallowing my pride, and giving myself to the program.
Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path is a true statement in my experience. On the other hand, possibly because alcoholics of my type are constantly told they have other options, a cynic might write - rarely do we see a person thoroughly follow our path. Why would they if they think they can get away with less.
Nearly every I tried AA and failed post, actually means the writer went to a few meetings and wasn't feeling any benefit. Meetings are not the program, and do not treat alcoholism. Unfortunately they are often mislead into believing that don't drink and go to meetings is the program, and keep coming back. Take what you like and leave the rest? Five and nine were the most beneficial steps to me, and they were the steps I would have left if I had held any reservations. Half measure availed us nothing was also true for me.
I know at the time I was too stupefied to argue or challenge anything. I just gave myself completely to this simple program. Stupid of me? Bad judgement? Who knows? But I did recover.