Although I live in Florida, I went to treatment and lived in a halfway house in Georgia for seven months. The first eight steps were completed with my first sponsor while I was still there, and since my time living in Georgia was coming to a close, the timing aligned for me to back home once
Step 9 Overview: Making a Direct Amends
Step 9: Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. Now that we have compiled our list of those in need of amends, we carefully contemplate our course of action. We must consider each amends we are to make and how best to approach each
Step 8: The List is Just a Start
Step 8 gives us the opportunity to make a plan that will help us clean up some of the damage or hurt we caused during active addiction. It is very important we take the time out to pray and meditate because having a clear mind and heart is crucial when we build this list and
Step 8: Making a List, Checking it Twice
Some people use the list they generated from Step 4 to get a ballpark idea of the people they will make amends to in Step 8. Some sponsors will help you prioritize the list into classes – amends that are easy and attainable, amends that will take a little more time because they’re more emotionally
Step 8: Overview
Step 8 requires more action. From completing a thorough 4th step, we find our 8th step is mostly laid out for us. In our 4th Step, we take an open and honest look at ourselves, and we now understand where we were wrong in our past. We review the list we have from our 4th
Step Four Overview: A Searching and Fearless Moral Inventory
At this point, we have put our faith and control of our lives into the care of our Higher Power. We have sincerely asked for guidance as our lives have become unmanageable under our direction, and now begin to look at all of the things in our lives holding us back. The Big Book of
Step 7: The Hope to Push Onward
As I mentioned in previous blogs, the steps are in a certain order for a reason. Each one builds off the last and prepares us for the next. We see the defect in Step 4, and we share with our sponsor in Step 5. In Step 6, we are aware of that defect and when
Step 7: For Some, It’s Easier Said Than Done
My sponsor was with me on the back porch of the halfway house I was living in when I did Step Seven, which was bundled together with Step Six because I did them on the same day. With humility being the spiritual principle behind this step, I humbled myself and asked my Higher Power to
Step 7: Achieving Your Potential
It’s important to understand the difference between the shortcomings we want to be removed versus the defects of character. Things you act out upon or certain reactions are defects of character. Conversely, shortcomings are the things you are not doing to achieve your potential. For example, not littering anymore would be removing the defect of
Step 7 Overview: Humbly Asked Him to Remove Our Shortcomings
The spiritual principle linked to Step 7 is humility. Humility is defined as a freedom from pride or arrogance: the quality or state of being humble. By definition, humility is the very thing many alcoholics and addicts have been missing throughout the entirety of their addiction. Pride and arrogance are the exact things keeping many