I want to start by admitting something up front – I’ve never been in a 12 step program. Those who have are often either very passionately for or very strongly against the program, but I’m not looking to take a side. Instead, what I want to do is give you an overview of what the 12 Steps are, because I think most of us have heard of Alcoholics Anonymous and the 12 Steps, but those like me who have never been through the program may not be familiar with the specifics. You might be surprised to find out exactly what they say.
Now, according to the rules of Alcoholics Anonymous you take each step one-at-a-time, and aren’t allowed to skip ahead to the next step until you’ve fully completed the last one. Although they are quick to read and understand, it can take a person years to successfully finish all twelve.
So, we start with:
1. Step One - We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
This one is very basic. No one likes admitting that they don’t have control over their own lives, and those who frequently abuse drugs and alcohol often make excuses like “I only drink socially,” “I can stop whenever I want,” “I just like the taste of beer.”
That’s why the first, and most important, step in the program is to admit to yourself that you’ve lost control over your life, and need to seek help.
Steps Two and Three
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we
understood Him.
The second and third steps are two of the most controversial. Are you an atheist? Are you an agnostic? If so, sorry, this program is not for you. You would literally be turned away at the second step.
4. Step Four - Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
In the fourth step, you look inside yourself. Has your addiction made you do things you’re not proud of? Have your own moral shortcomings led you to your current place in life? Those are the questions you ask.
Steps Five through Seven
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
Here, again, you can see how central religious faith is to the 12 steps. The focus is not on improving yourself directly. Instead, it’s always on asking God to improve you.
Steps Eight and Nine
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
Broken families, broken furniture, broken bank accounts, broken homes - addiction is rarely if ever a victimless crime, and the friends and families of those who abuse alcohol are often hurt more than the abuser themselves. The eighth and ninth steps are all about making amends for the harm and suffering addicts have caused to those close to them.
10. Step Ten - Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Step Eleven - 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.
The tenth and eleventh steps contain one of the most important teachings of Alcoholics Anonymous – there is no such thing as a fully recovered alcoholic, but only ones who have managed to control their disease for now. Unless you remain constantly vigilant, continuous taking personal inventory and trying to deepen your relationship with God, your addiction could return and control your life again.
Finally, Step 12 -
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.
That is our take on the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, but we’d like to see what you think. The above was adapted from the 12 Step Program episode of our video series “Change Your Life in Five Minutes or Less.” Click here to watch and comment on the complete episode - .
