At a fundamental level, for many people, including myself, "putting in the work" meant/means doing some things I DIDN'T want to do (like having difficult conversations, seeking help from a psychiatrist, being physically active when I didn't necessarily want to, getting other medical issues resolved) and also NOT doing some things I wanted to do - and I don't mean simply not drinking - like NOT associating with certain people, NOT going certain places, letting go of things that made me angry, etc.