Day 84 – Step Work
As you pay attention to your thoughts and feelings, you can also discover any negative beliefs you still hold. Ask your Father in Heaven to remove these. In taking step 10, you will no longer have to resort to justifying, rationalizing, or blaming anything or anyone. Your goal will be to keep your heart open and your mind focused on the lessons the Savior has taught.
Most of us follow step 10 by taking inventory each day. As you plan your day, prayerfully examine your motives. Are you doing too much or too little? Are you taking care of your basic spiritual, emotional, and physical needs? Do you serve others?
Ask yourself these and other questions as you seek balance and serenity in your day. As the day unfolds, you can quickly stop negative thoughts or feelings that threaten to overwhelm you. Be especially alert for old behaviors or thinking patterns during highly stressful situations.
Some people think of this type of inventory as a time-out. During this time-out, take a few moments and apply to your immediate situation each principle you have learned in following the steps. You will soon remember how essential it is to rely on the Lord in all your efforts to recover. You can say to yourself in a moment of crisis, “What character weakness in me is being triggered? What have I done to contribute to this problem? Is there anything I can say or do, without pretense, which will lead to a respectful solution for me and the other person? The Lord has all power. I’ll relax and trust Him.”
This “spot check” inventory is applied throughout your day. Will you practice this?
Yes, I will. I feel like I’ve been trying to do this already luckily but want to get better at it.6
Do you see evidence of the need for this in your current life? Give several examples.
Yes, absolutely. I definitely feel at times I feel overwhelmed and am not sure what to do next. This is a perfect time to assess where I’m at, what my motives are, and what I can do to move forward in the best way.
Today, for example, is stressful because I have a lot going on and what seems like little time. I want to be more than one person so I can get everything done. All I can do, though, is the best I can. I can think, plan and then perform.
I look forward to making this a good day as I submit to God.
Do you believe there may be negative beliefs you still hold on to? Please give examples?
I think some, yes. I think at times, if I’m not careful, my mind can wander. I need to always be careful of how I look at other women, even if it’s only from the chin up. I also think I have tendencies to talk others down some in an effort to feel more confident about myself. I need to be careful of this too. Finally, I think at times I can doubt my own knowledge or abilities. I need to be confident, put my trust in God, and let Him help me and direct me down the right path for me.
Do you have a desire to discover these more fully and be able to turn these over to the Savior?
Yes, I do have that desire. I feel sometimes I lack the faith that He will really help me too much with temporal things. I need to work on this.
Can you see the potential for growth in step 10?
Yes, I can. I’m excited to put it into practice.
Is this desirable to you? Explain.
Absolutely.
Do you see the challenge in the continued practicing of step 10? What is it?
Getting complacent, getting over confident, being consistent – especially if no one is watching or waiting for me to return and report. I want to be consistent in this part of recovery.
If you have taken a negative action toward another person, make amends as quickly as possible. Cast aside pride, and remind yourself that sincerely saying “I was wrong” is often just as important in healing a relationship as saying “I love you.”
As you continue working on step 9, will you strive to practice making amends promptly, when any new problems arise, as part of step 10?
Absolutely. I feel I have been working on this for a while now. I want to keep myself free from bondage and shame and this is how to do that.
Before you go to bed, examine your entire day. Ask yourself if you still need to counsel with the Lord about any negative behaviors, thoughts, or feelings. In addition to counseling with the Lord, you can talk to an adviser or a friend in the program, someone you can trust to be objective about your thinking.
At the close of your day, will you apply this aspect of step 10, striving to be consistent?
Yes. Right now Becky and I do the AEIOU’s, which is sort of this. I feel I can do this on my own as well and am willing to do so.
Do you see the challenge this aspect of step 10 presents? What is it?
I think the main challenge is to keep with it and not get complacent. I want to continue to live in recovery and don’t want to ever get lax again. I guess recognizing this is a key part of the solution to not let it happen.
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