I'm sure you'll get a few different perspectives on this one, but here's my ES&H:
When I was new, it was suggested to me that I look up words in a dictionary if I was unfamiliar with their meanings. Upon looking up the words "defect" and "shortcoming," I concluded that these terms were synonymous. After further investigation in NA literature, I found that NA uses these terms interchangeably. To put it simply, in Step 6 we become entirely ready to have our HP remove our defects of character and in Step 7 we humbly ask to have
THOSE SAME defects removed. Another way of looking at it is to recall all those things we admitted in our 5th Step as our defects of character. Why am I angry? why am I resentful? why am I fearful? Each of these reactions have a cause.
We discover, if we are thorough in our step work, that the "exact nature" of our wrongs aren't the wrongs themselves, but
the CAUSE of those wrongs. We then learn that the exact nature of our wrongs ARE our defects of character. For example: Some of us erroneously tend to describe lying and cheating as defects of character. According to NA, the exact nature of the lying and cheating is dishonesty...hence, dishonesty is the defect that we become entirely ready to have removed in Step 6. In Step 7 we humbly ask God to remove our dishonesty. The same applies to intolerance, impatience, greed, lust, etc...
I also believe it is important to always remember that the core of our disease is self-centered fear, and all of our defects of character are expressions of our self-obsession. Another good reference to check out is the NA IP called "The Triangle of Self-Obsession."
You also may want to check out the Sub Forum on Step 7:
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ml#post1612413
GarryW