Step 5: Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs
As we prepare to admit our faults, we can begin by asking ourselves the following questions or use them for a group discussion:
If I have completed my Fourth Step inventory, how do I feel about sharing details of my past with another person?
In what areas of my past am I willing to be completely honest?
What are some of the advantages I might get from admitting my faults?
Do I understand the healing relief that honestly admitting my faults can bring?
What expectations do I have about how I should feel or what I should experience when I admit my faults?
Am I ready to let these expectations go and allow the God of my understanding to determine the best results for me? How do I know?
If I do not feel ready to do this step, do I need to do more work on Steps One through Four?
Would I be willing to group my inventory into things I could admit, things I might admit, and things I think, “No Way! I’ll never be able to do that,” and then start with the “could” list?
Am I afraid to admit my faults to my Higher Power? Why?
Who in the program could I call to discuss my fears about God?
Could I make a list of my fears and turn them over? What are my fears?
How can admitting my faults to the God of my understanding help me?
Can I concede that I am not perfect? How can I quit trying to be?
How do I try to excuse myself from harms I may have done?
With whom will I share my Fifth Step? What qualities make me choose this person? Do I trust him or her?
Do I have any of those qualities myself? Did I list them under my assets?
What may block me from trusting someone with my truth? Can I share these fears with another person?
How does my desire to be perfect block me from believing someone could love me unconditionally, even after hearing my Fifth Step?
How can telling someone else the exact nature of my wrongs enhance my ability to see myself?
How have I isolated myself? Do I believe that sharing with another person can lead to relief from isolation?
What is the one thing I don’t want to tell another person? Can I start there?
Can being honest and admitting a mistake have positive consequences? What are they?
Can I remember when another person admitted a fault or mistake to me and I understood and didn’t judge?
In doing this Fifth Step, what have I learned about the exact nature of my wrongs?
What have I learned about fear? Honesty? Trust? Acceptance?
How did I feel after sharing with God? Admitting to myself? Sharing with another person?
What, if anything, have I left out? If I have completed Step Five, what am I feeling? Is anything different? Better?