The Twelve Steps
The 12-Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous were written by founders Bill W. and Dr. Bob Smith. The Steps offer simple, straightforward guidance to men and women hoping to lead sober lives. For over 75 years, these Steps have guided millions, helping them live lives of hope rather than lives of quiet desperation. These Steps have been adopted by over 350 groups since 1934.
HONESTY
Step 1
We admitted we were powerless over our addiction – that our lives had become unmanageable.
HOPE
Step 2
Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
FAITH
Step 3
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood him.
COURAGE
Step 4
Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
INTEGRITY
Step 5
Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
WILLINGNESS
Step 6
Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
Humility
Step 7
Humbly asked him to remove our shortcomings.
BROTHERLY LOVE
Step 8
Made a list all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
JUSTICE
Step 9
Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
PERSEVERANCE
Step 10
Continued to take moral inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
SPIRITUALITY
Step 11
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.
SERVICE
Step 12
Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
