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General Service Conference approved literature lists Step 12 of the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous as follows:

“12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.”

Reaching Step 12 means that we are ready to live our lives on a day-to-day basis while adhering to the standards of Alcoholics Anonymous. Step 12 of Alcoholics Anonymous also means carrying the message of A.A. to others in need. Sharing our strength, hope and the experience we have gained by working the 12 steps may be the single most important responsibility of Alcoholics Anonymous; aside from lasting sobriety, of course.

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General Service Conference approved literature lists Step 11 of the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous as follows:

“11. We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understand him/her, praying only for knowledge of his/her will for us and the power to carry that out.”

As stated in the step, Step 11 deals mainly with prayer and meditation. Earlier in the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, we dealt with the often difficult task of recognizing a “higher power”. By Step 11, we should already be confident in our belief in some form of “God” or Higher Power”. Our Higher Power can guide us and help us stay sober in times of desperation.

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General Service Conference approved literature lists Step 10 of the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous as follows:

“10. We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.”

During Step 10 we are preparing to embark on a new lifelong adventure and making arrangements to put our A.A. way of life into use. We take responsibility for our actions and take personal inventory on a regular basis. After we have completed Step 10, we can, in good conscious, feel honest regret for harms done and rectify those harms in a healthy and productive manner.

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General Service Conference approved literature lists Step 89of the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous as follows:

“9. We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.”

Many of us begin to make certain kinds of direct amends (as in Step 9 of A.A.) as soon as enter Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.). One can even see the process of entering Alcoholics Anonymous as a major action towards accomplishing personal resolutions. Sitting down for a serious discussion with certain family members you may have harmed in the past is usually the best place to begin resolving past issues. Good timing and great judgment are of key importance during step 9.

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General Service Conference approved literature lists Step 8 of the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous as follows:

“8. We made a list of all the persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.”

The Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book states, “We have a list of all persons we have harmed and to whom we are willing to make amends. We made it when we took inventory. We subjected ourselves to a drastic self- appraisal. Now we go out to our fellows and repair the damage done in the past. We attempt to sweep away the debris which has accumulated out of our effort to live on self-will and run the show ourselves. If we haven’t the will to do this, we ask until it comes. Remember it was agreed at the beginning we would go to any lengths for victory over alcohol.”

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General Service Conference approved literature lists Step 7 of the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous as follows:

“7. We humbly asked him (God/Higher power) to remove our shortcomings.”

During step 7, The Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book suggests we say something to this respect: “My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad. I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows. Grant me strength, as I go out from here, to do your bidding. Amen.”

Step 7 is very similar to the 3rd step of Alcoholics Anonymous. However, it is important to note that since we have completed our personal invebtory, we have a better understanding of the roots of our addictive behaviors during step 7. This allows us to make a perminent change in our attitude and perform the greatest act of humility in asking our higher power to remove our shortcomings.

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General Service Conference approved literature lists Step 6 of the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous as follows:

“6. We’re entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.”

The Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book states, “We have emphasized willingness as being indispensable. Are we now ready to let God remove from us all the things which we have admitted are objectionable? Can He now take them all, everyone? If we still cling to something we will not let go, we ask God to help us be willing.”

Step 6 is often regarded as a step of preparation and reflection. Having God (as we know him/her) remove all of our character defects means that we can truly start on a new path of total sobriety.

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General Service Conference approved literature lists Step 5 of the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous as follows:

“5. We admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being, the exact nature of our wrongs.”

None of the 12 steps in Alcoholics Anonymous are “easy”, but step 5 is especially difficult because we must admit our faults and defects to another human being. However, discussing our wrongs with another person can be helpful and therapeutic.

Once we have taken inventory of all of our shortcomings due to alcohol abuse (step 4), the next logical step is to share those emotions with our higher power, ourselves and another human being. Once we have successfully completed step 5, we can then begin to build a life based on honesty and truth.

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General Service Conference approved literature lists Step 4 of the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous as follows:

“4. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.”

During step 4, we learn that there are four inventories we should be taking: Resentments, “Sex”, “Fears” and “Harms to others”. Step four is often regarded as a fact finding, and fact facing process. During this step, we want to uncover truths about ourselves and all the behaviors that cause us to fail.

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General Service Conference approved literature lists Step 3 of the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous as follows:

“3. We Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.”

The main action during step 3 is a decision. Certainly, the idea of making such a big decision (such as turning our will and lives to a higher power) is something that may terrify us at first.

During step 3, it is important to understand that the decision we need to make may be too big to make in one leap. Another challenge in step 3 is that each one of us will have to come to a conclusion about what “God” means. However, it is important to understand that our understanding of “God” or a higher power doesn’t have to be complex or complete. The only thing that is essential is that we begin a search that will help us understand “God” as our recovery continues.

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