Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. Step eleven, like step ten, is not a step that is worked once and then forgotten. Instead, it is part of an ongoing […]
Continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. Step ten in most respects is the logical culmination of the previous nine steps. In essence, the first nine steps are about stopping the bleeding of addiction, and then identifying and cleaning up the wreckage of our pasts. Step ten begins the
Made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. After working step eight, you should have a list of people you have harmed and you should be willing to make amends to them all. If so, then you are ready to work step nine. Step nine
Humbly asked Him [God] to remove our shortcomings. Step seven is the logical continuation of step six, wherein addicts delineate their character defects and become willing to live without them. In step seven, as one might expect, addicts begin the process of actually getting rid of those shortcomings. In most respects, working step seven is
We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. The Alcoholics Anonymous authored book, The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, famously calls step six “the step that separates the men from the boys.” What the AA folks mean by this is that compiling a list of one’s character defects and then
We admitted to God, to Ourselves, and to Another Human Being the Exact Nature of Our Wrongs. Step five is the simplest of steps to work, yet it is without doubt among the most difficult to do. Addicts who’ve completed step four have put together an inventory of their wrongdoings, character defects, weaknesses, fears, and
Made a Searching and Fearless Moral Inventory of Ourselves Most active addicts consider themselves to be victims, and they use that stance as justification for drinking, using, and/or engaging in other compulsive/addictive behaviors.Nobody understands me, therefore I drink and use.My boss hates me. I think I’ll get even by showing up high.My wife is a
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over the care of God as we understood him. Recovering addicts who’ve achieved lasting sobriety, no matter their addiction – alcohol, drugs, shopping, gambling, eating, sex, or anything else – will nearly always state unequivocally that the key to their recovery has been working the
After completing rehab treatment, a major challenge for many is the return to work or the search for employment. It is true that this can be a difficult and stressful period, but difficult does not equal impossible. Everyone has to deal with challenges in this life, even people who have tackled something as big as
Getting a Job or Re-Entering Your Career After Rehab Read More »
Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. Most addicts, no matter their addiction (alcohol, drugs, sex, gambling, shopping, etc.) find that they key to lasting sobriety is working the twelve steps of recovery. As discussed in this space a few weeks ago, step one explores the depth and
