Step 10
We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
“The Tenth Step is there for the same reason that they put erasers on pencils. We are going to make mistakes, but we can correct them.”
—Clarence Snyder
I consider my sobriety a “practice” by which I continuously try to get better at sobriety every single day. Just like our addiction was once a lifestyle for us, sobriety now becomes our lifestyle. We learn to live our daily life without turning to substances (or whatever negative attitudes or behaviors we turn to) to deal with life.
If you’ve made it this far in your recovery, it might seem overwhelming to realize that you will continue to take a personal inventory. But at this point, your inventory list should be much shorter. And it will get shorter the more and more you continue on the path of sobriety. How? Because you’re no longer holding onto resentments and you quickly ask for forgiveness when you’ve wronged someone. That’s how.
“…we practice regular ego/pride deflation that allows humility to continue to develop in our souls. …Our lives require an ongoing evaluation of our thoughts, deeds, desires, and motives.”
—Project HEAL Christ-centered Recovery Lessons, pp. 41 & 43.
Instead of our thoughts being consumed with how we’ll get our next fix, we now let our thoughts be filled with how we can let go of the things that might trigger us to use. We focus on “cleaning house” instead of getting high. And whenever old habits and ways of thinking start to creep up, we choose the opposite and allow healing to take hold.
The bottom-line is we don’t ever stop practicing our sobriety. When we stop practicing we risk relapsing because it’s so easy to convince ourselves that we can use without any consequence. I encourage you to continue your journey of healing and sobriety so that you can discover the many amazing things you’ll do when you’re not using.
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