Thoughts on Step 7

[nandm]

"Humbly asked him to remove our shortcomings."

Steps Six and Seven work in concert. First, we become ready to have our defects and shortcomings removed, and then we put our money where our mouth is, by asking our Higher Power to take the lead in doing the job.

Humility, which essentially gives us the ability to learn, plays a major role in Step Seven. All the preceding steps have led to the uncovering and discovering of our defects. Now we're ready to discard them as part of our quest for recovery.

Our shortcomings are never more clearly defined than when we begin looking at them without guilt. When we accept responsibility for past actions, we need never feel these humiliations again. As we come to understand this, we become even more willing to examine the wreckage of our past, because we know we'll soon be done with it.

Step by Step. Muriel Zink

[nandm]

This step reminds me to ask myself "what is my part in the problem." As no matter what difficulties I face I have always played some role in them. Usually my difficulties have resulted from a character defect coming out. My part of step 6 is taking the responsibility for my part. By identifying my part I am better prepared to recognize the character defect before it gets me into difficulty in the future.

This step is the second part of how I apply steps 6 and 7 to my life. This step is the action part of when I recognize the character defect through step 6, I am able to apply action to it, step 7, to help me not to let the defect get me into difficulty in the future.