Step 10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
Principle - Perseverance
Personal Inventory
In taking a personal inventory of ourselves, we have to face facts as they really are. We have to stop running away. We must face reality. We must see ourselves as we really are. We must admit our faults openly and try to correct them. We must try to see where we have been dishonest, impure, selfish, and unloving. We do not do this once and forget it. We continuously take inventory of ourselves to assure we keep a clear conscience -- "Continuously" being minute by minute. We do it every day of our lives, as long as we live. We are never done with checking up on ourselves.
Our faith has given us healthier thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.
We have replaced fear, guilt, shame, isolation, loneliness, anger and other destructive behaviors with positive behaviors:
Gratitude
Acceptance
Humility
Forgiveness
Generosity
Caring
Truth
Patience
Respect
Humor
We make a gratitude list and add to it daily.
We learn about H.A.L.T. We don't become too: Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired.
We seek inspiration from our Higher Power to guide our thoughts and actions.
Am I taking a daily inventory of myself?
a) Every night before you go to bed, think of all of the incidents and situations during the day, when you have practiced your defect(s) of character.
b) You may want to discuss the incidents and situations with the person you harmed (including yourself). Promptly admit you were wrong when you practiced your defect(s) of character. You will have a clean conscience.
c) Discuss how you would like to act and behave in the future, without practicing those defects of character.
Read this today in Halezdan's-Lessons from our sponsors:
"Join the human race, Honey."
How many times did my sponsor say this to me? I can't even begin to count. Whenever I was upset with myself (or someone else), whenever I made a mistake, whenever I was in despair over my messy emotions, whenever I felt like a failure--in other words, almost every day back then--she would say those four words (always with "Honey" added on) in kindness and love.
I now understand she was teaching me that no human being is perfect and that making mistakes is part of everyday life. Recovery doesn't mean I will always behave in an exemplary fashion. Serenity doesn't mean I'll never get angry or upset. Isn't that why we have a Tenth Step? If I'm willing to "join the human race," then I'm bound to experience my (and others') character defects. But if I face the truth about myself with humility, then when I make a mistake, I can correct it without sinking into self-blame.
In the Seventh Step prayer, I let my Higher Power have "all of me, good and bad." Thanks to my sponsor, I have learned to accept all of me.
--Ella H.
This was a great reminder that doing my daily inventory AND practicing it keeps me on track ;)
"Life always waits for some crisis to occur before revealing itself at its most brilliant." ~Paul Coelho
I truly appreciate your effort in posting this.
My step 10 as of this moment:
Laziness. I was wrong for procrastinating in my studies.
I am sorry to myself and my family for wasting my own time and their money.
I will concentrate on my studies without being distracted by Youtube, Facebook or any other unproductive thoughts creeping in my mind.
Maxi
13 years since first started gaming (2002 - 2015)
Reborn on July 29th, 2015.