“It is a spiritual axiom that every time we are disturbed, no matter what the cause, there is something wrong with us. If somebody hurts us and we are sore, there is something wrong with us.”

P. 90 12 and 12

As alcoholics, our tendency is to look at others’ wormgdpings and take their inventory. The fault with this thinking is it gives us license for inaction. As we learn in Step 4, it is imperative that we look at our part. While the other person may have very well contributed to the problem, or perhaps even caused the issue entirely, we ALWAYS have the opportunity to review our own actions and determine where we could have been better. Ownership and accountability are central to our spiritual growth. Without honestly and perpetually assessing our actions with a proper 10th-step spot check inventory, we’re prone to a buildup of resentments.

Conversely, if we diligently practice our 10th step, we take an active role in our emotional sobriety. Here are the 4 parts to a proper 10th step:

1. Vigilantly remain on the lookout for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment and fear.

2. When these crop up we ask God at once to remove them.

3. Discuss them with someone immediately and make amends if needed.

4. Resolutely turn our thoughts to someone we can help.

LOVE AND TOLERANCE OF OTHERS IS OUR CODE