Inventory

[Den13]

Hi all, have a question. This forum gives me more answers than the ones I get at meetings. What exactly do you do for an inventory. I am one of those that books are nice but I need to be shown to understand. Is ther anyone that can "show" me how a self inventory is done or at least how someone did theirs? Thanks in advance.

[CarolD]

Are you doing a 4th Step?

If so....I did mine directly out of the Big Book.
Sat down with pen and paper ...prayed and
followed the directions on page 65.

Do check with your sponsor...K?

[sugErspun]

Got a sponsor Den?

I worked mine, out of the book, under the guidance of my sponsor.

Went quite well.

[Den13]

Starting 4th step. Just wanted more input than sponsors input. I like to get as much info as I can. Thanks.

[sugErspun]

This was a good thread on the same subject


http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...fferently.html (every sponsor does things a little differently)

[Treasure2Find]

My sponsor went over my forth step in the Big Book. We read the instructions together he asked me if I had any questions and I said no. I called my sponsor and asked questions everyday for about 4 days and I think he figured out I was just stalling. I said he showed me the instructions in the book and told me to stop questioning everything and just do it.

I followed the instructions in the big book I cant give you anything else better then whats already been writen down. Good Luck....

[Tommyh]

Den
I did the same thing you are doing.
I talked with my sponser,read the big book,the 12x12 and asked questions at meetings ..

My sponser gave me a form like the big book example,but it had 4 columns,I used it and it helped a lot.

[Tommyh]

den,I sent you a pm,but I am going to post it her also...



I used a 7 page form to do mine.It is a pdf file and I tryed to upload it and failed.If you want it,email me at oldhippietommy@gmail.com and I`ll send it as a attachment.It has a resentment ,fear,and sex inventory form , patterened after the big book.It also has several pages of lists of people,places and principles to "jog our memory" which I found very handy.If you use it,you will have to print it off and then copy the resentment,fear and sex inventory pages to get as many as you need.

I had trouble since I was so confused.My sponser told me to go back as far as possible,and break my life down into 5 year blocks.0-5 yrs(example)
5-10 yrs
10-15 yrs
15-20 yrs etc
untill I got to the present time.

On the resentment inventory,I read it thru,then listed my resentments in column one,from top to bottom.
I did not go from left to right..I just listed who/what I was resentfull at first.
I had 96 resentments listed..if it was close to a resentment,I wrote it down.I also found out I could have more than one resentment toward one persom..

I then went to the 2nd column and filled in the column,from top to bottom..why was I resentfull?
then I went to the 3rd,affects my....?
and then the last column where was I.....?
I saw a pattern emerging thru out my 4th step..

Filling out the 3rd and 4th columns was the hardest for me but I just did the best I could.There is no perfect 4th step..so do not worry,just do it.
I did the same thing in the fear(28 fears) and the sex inventory(48 things there)


good luck!
Let me know if you want it or if I can be of help..
in the fellowship of the spirit
Tommy H.

[Aa_vark]

I pm'd you an awesome ste of worksheets...

[Debaucher]

I always find a big task is sometimes too much to handle if you look at the whole... start by putting one foot in front of the other...

pg 64 in the big book.

In dealing with resentments, we set them on paper. We listed people, institutions or principles with whom we were angry.

Start by doing just that... don't worry about the rest of it... start by doing that... if it is too much just write the people you are angry with who cares about the why...

Then write institutions (like... church... school... my knitting club... etc...)

after you get that done then continue reading and try to do what it says... one step at a time...

That should get your started. That was what I had the biggest problem with... just getting started

[Den13]

Thank you all, especially for the worksheets. This helps alot. I have to admit, just as I suspected, I got more help here than my sponsor but thats OK. I will pass it along to him so he can pass it to others. Now the big part....starting!!!!!!
Bball: tons of thanks. I get notified by phone when new posts are made here and sped home to read them (but not drinking). This makes my day.

[Tommyh]

Den,you are welcome..let us know if we can be of futher help..

[jimhere]

I started to give you some of my experience, but then thought better of it.

If you are being sponsored by a sponsor that sponsors out of the book, follow their directions. The more people you ask, the more confused you will be.
Jim

[earthnocentric]

A couple thoughts

If I see in my 1st step that I'm powerless over alcohol, that I'm "just as hopeless"as Bill and the Big Book states "Its main object is to enable you to find a Power greater than yourself which will solve your problem."(In this context "problem" is read roughly "failing self reliance"),then I will sieze upon the specific suggested actions(12 steps) as outlined in the Text like the dying man I am.

If I read pages 63 to76, if I really peruse these pages, its clear that following the step four instructions in the book will perfectly reveal the contents for steps 5 through 8.

I'm gratefull for having a sponsor that had found that "Power" as a result of taking the steps as outlined in the Big Book and guiding me through as I am now doing with still others

[barb dwyer]

I sent a PM ... hope you got it.
Hope it helps.
I did the same thing, at first.