Last week we discussed the first six of the AA’s 12 steps (in case you missed it, check out the blog post here).  This week, we will be discussing the final six steps.  Read on to learn more.  

7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

Once you are ready, turn to God and ask Him to grant you the strength needed to move forward.    You must approach this with true humility, or your pride may prevent you from truly changing.  

8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

Throughout your addiction, you knowingly or unknowingly harmed others.  Whether you stole money from them to feed your addiction, you lied to them, talked bad about them behind their backs, or did anything else you to harm them. You need to be willing to apologize.

9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

Tell those people that you identified in Step 8 that you are sorry.  Try to make it as meaningful as possible.  You can sit down with them, speak to them on the phone, write them a letter, or reach out to them in some other way.  Of course, there are some circumstances where this is impossible or would cause more harm, so be wise during this step.  

10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

This step asks you to continue to recover and be humble throughout your life.  You need to continuously evaluate your life and be humble enough to admit when you are wrong.  You need to be kind to yourself and to others, and take care of yourself as you continue on.  

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.

As you continue recovering, it is important to stay spiritually minded.  Whether you pray, meditate, read scriptures, or visit the mountains often, you need to do something to connect with a Higher Power.  

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.

After you have changed your life, it is important to reach out and help others change theirs.