Work it Wednesday - Step 4

Quick review:

Step 1 - We admitted we were powerless over our addiction and that our lives had become unmanageable.
Step 2 - Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Step 3 - Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood him.

Now for Step 4 - We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. 

Booklets are available through our website
www.streetchicks.net

 Step 4 is the action to the decision we made in step 3. It is referred to as personal housecleaning. You can also think of it this way - a business which doesn't take a regular inventory usually goes broke. It allows the business to find damaged or unsalable goods and get rid of them, promptly and without regret. Same goes for you - find what is damaged or flawed in yourself and get rid of it! It takes effort to face the things which are blocking us and it is very important to be completely honest here.

Selfishness, self centeredness and self pity are the root of our problems. They are driven by fear. Combine these and you get a big dose of resentment. Resentment destroys more addicts that anything else. To deal with resentment, we have to get them out of our heads and on to paper.

Step 4 is really just a long list.

First, list the people, institutions or principles that we are angry at, had offended us or had injured us.

• People - mom, dad, my boss, Sally, Dick, Jane.......
• Institutions - bank, school, treatment center, jail, church.......
• Principles - rules of conduct, integrity, fundamental truths........

Second, next to each item from the first list of who/what you are resentful at, list the cause of that resentment. In other words, why are you angry at them? List the specific action that someone did to hurt you. 

• He ripped me off
• She called the police on me
• The person or institution lied to me
• She is overbearing and doesn't understand
• They fired me
• He dominated my life and controlled my every move
• He/she cheated on me with my best friend

Third, next to that, list the affects it has had. Did it affect your self esteem? Pride? Ambition? Personal Relationships? Fear?

• My pride was hurt
• It affected my personal relationships with others
• It crushed my self-esteem (fear)
• Lessened my ambitions
• Left me scared to love again
• Made me not trust authority

Page 7 from the booklet Meditations for Street Chicks Step 4
Available through our website
www.streetchicks.net

Most people are very fearful of this step and put it off as long as possible. The longer you put it off and avoid dealing with the issues of 'self' the longer you avoid recovery and are prone to relapse. Look at step 4 as simply a bunch of lists. Lists of trash that you need to take to the curb and get rid of. Most importantly, ask God for help, guidance and strength to get through it. If you are thorough, you will be listing a lot! You are starting to see what your role has been in your past troubles. How self-reliance and selfishness failed you.

Now you can begin to ask yourself how you can do it better in the future. You can grow toward new ideals. 

Grab some paper and a pen and start making your list! The sooner you do, the sooner you can move on!