The 12-Steps for Sobers

October is National Substance Abuse Prevention Month.

Turns out, ALL of us: sober, addict, BREATHING beings, could really benefit from taking the personal inventory promoted by the 12-steps to recovery.  

I  didn't grow up in an environment where addiction ( was talked about so I wasn't familiar with the 12-Steps until I was I desperate for recovery and begin applying the 12- Steps in my on life. What I discovered is the 12-Steps is like having some church up in here.  And by "in here" I mean the front row of your SOUL. So, if you think the 12-Steps don't apply to you, you're wrong.  All of us are, or have been addicted to something.  It just doesn't necessarily have to be a physical substance. 

Other addictions include: 

1. Drama/Chaos
2. Gossiping
3. Negative thought patterns/ fear-based thinking
4. Overspending OR over-saving (constantly crunching)
5. Food
6. Work
7. Overachieving/ Constant Multitasking 
8. Materialism
9. Gambling/Risk taking
10. Sex/constant need of relationship companion
11. Avoidance (of issues, motivation, etc.)
12. Jealousy
13. Violence
14. Arrogance/vanity
15. Lying/Truth "bending"
16. Working out/sports
17. Cosmetic surgery
18. Power
19. Our prejudices
20. TV/cellphones/internet


And that's just the short-list version.

Think of one character default you which to shed.  It can be anything that doesn't serve you.  And apply the 12-steps to your action plan.  It truly is applicable AND beneficial to any feature we wish to shed. 

The Twelve Steps

1. I admit that I am powerless over (fill your addiction here)—that my life has become unmanageable. 
   
2. I believe that a Power greater than myself can restore me to sanity. 
   
3. I make a decision to turn my will and my life over to the care of God as I understand Him. 
   
4. I have made a searching and fearless moral inventory of myself. 
   
5. I admit to God, to myself, and to another human beings the exact nature of my wrongs. 
   
6. I am entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of my character. 
   
7. I humbly asked Him to remove my shortcomings. 
   
8. I have made a list of all persons I have harmed, and am willing to make amends to them all. 
   
9. I will make direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. 
   
10. I will continue to take personal inventory and when I am wrong, will promptly admitted it. 
    
11. I seek through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as I understand Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for me and the power to carry that out. 
    
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, I embody this message for others, and will practice these principles in all my affairs. 
    
    
    
    "The goal of spiritual practice is full recovery, and the only thing you need to recover from is a fractured sense of self." - Marianne Williamson