• What were all of the types and amounts of alcohol and drugs I used, from my first time to the present? What did it cost me or others – purchases, income, fines? Emotional cost?
• When have I experienced the abnormal physical reaction to alcohol? "One drink leads to another." Suggestion: Describe the last drink or a similar episode in detail.
• When did I recognize that I lost control of my drinking? Examples: I drink to excess. I cannot stop when I want to. Heard in a meeting: “When I drink I break out in a binge.”
• In what ways have I attempted, and have failed, to control my drinking? Did I use alcohol, or did alcohol use me?
• What were the things I did while acting out on my disease that I would never do when focusing on recovery? (ie: destructive behavior, loss of memory and blackouts, being abusive physically or verbally, insane and suicidal behaviors, etc.)
• What would my life be like if I admitted being powerless over alcohol and other dysfunctional behaviors?
• What other aspects of my life am I powerless over?
• In what ways has my disease been active recently? How do I behave compulsively?
• When and how has my mind told me that one drink will not hurt?
• How did jails or institutions take over the management of my life at different times?
• How am I addicted to changing my mood? What was I trying to change? In what ways am I addicted to looking outside of myself for exterior things to change the way I feel?
• Are there situations that I fear will be so painful that I will drink again?
• How is my addictive thinking and behavior manifested in my life today? Be specific.
• What is it like when I am obsessed with someone or something?
• Do I maintain a crisis mentality, reacting to every challenge as a personal insult? How has this affected my life?
• Do I insist on having my own way? Do I consider the needs of others? How has this behavior/attitude affected my relationships?
• What in my life can I truly manage?
• What managed my life when using, and what manages my life in recovery?

• What is my understanding of my own sanity and insanity? The Big Book authors define sanity as sane and sound. "healthy, whole" Insanity is a lack of proportion, of the ability to think straight, and crazy is an appalling lack of perspective.
• What things have I repeatedly done that move me toward my own destruction?
• How has my life been out of balance? Have I lacked perspective? How and when?
• In what ways does my insanity say that things outside myself can make me whole or fix all my problems?
• What does the phrase came to believe, mean to me? What do I believe in?
• What are my negative thoughts, feelings, attitudes or beliefs that block my spirituality?
• Can I believe that I can get well? Why? How, and in what ways?
• What is a power greater than myself?
• What are my grievances against a higher power?
• What is the evidence that a higher power is working in my life?
• What are the characteristics my higher power does NOT have?
• What characteristics DOES my higher power have? [If you choose, you can use this understanding of higher power as a beginning for now.]
• What type of sanity is Step 2 referring to?
• Where in my life do I need sanity now?
• How have I sought help from a higher power today?
• Who do I know who is recovering well? What are they doing that is working?
• Have I sought help from my sponsor, gone to meetings, and reached out to other recovering alcoholics? What were the results?
• Have I used a meeting or the fellowship as a higher power? What happened?
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• Who or what made my decisions for me while drinking?
• Can I make a decision to turn my will and my life over to the care of a higher power of my understanding – just for today? What fears or reservations do I have about turning my life over?
• What actions will I take to follow through on my decision to turn my life over to a higher power?
• How have I been self-centered? How have I been defiant?
• Which problems have I tried to resolve through willpower? What were the results?
• In what ways are my troubles of my own making?
• How do my reactions to life events make me suffer? Be specific.
• In what ways am I an extreme example of self-will run riot? (62: 2) How have I acted on self-will?
• How has my self-will affected others?
• Have there been times in my recovery when I have found myself subtly taking back my will and my life? What alerted me? What have I done to recommit myself to the Third Step?
• Who or what makes my decisions for me in recovery?
• Why is it okay to have a different higher power from everyone else?
• How is my higher power working in my life today? How do my higher power and I communicate? What do I do in order to be open to my higher power?
• Is my current concept of a higher power still working? How might I need to change my concept of a higher power?
• What are specific examples of how I turned my life and will over to my addictions?
• How would my day look if I were to turn my will and my life over to the care of a higher power of my understanding?
• What are my fears about making this decision?
• Which thoughts and behaviors am I willing to turn over right now? Which am I holding on to?
• How do I take action to turn my will and my life over to my higher power on a daily basis? Are there any practices I do regularly? What are they?
• What have I done recently that demonstrates my surrender to recovery and to working a program?

We suggest to follow your sponsor's suggestions in working step 4

• Am I identifying the exact nature of my wrongs, that is, what is behind my alcoholism and the reasons I acted out in the ways I did?
• Am I listing all those behaviors and parts of myself that I had vowed would never see the light of day?

• [Optional: Having been granted a perfect release from alcoholism, why then shouldn't we be able to achieve by the same means a perfect release from every other difficulty or defect? This is a riddle….(12&12 64: 2)]
• Consider having a round robin discussion about one particular defect, and the group’s experiences with Step 6 by the Big Book.
• In what ways are my defects really basic human traits that have been distorted by my own self-centeredness?
• In what specific ways am I addicted to outside things to change my feelings?
• Can I list each defect I have and the ways I act on it?
• How do I feel when I act out on each defect? What feelings do my defects help me change or avoid? Is every defect another face of fear?
• What would my life be like without each defect?
• Am I ready to become willing?
• Which of my unwanted defects am I dismayed to find are still here?
• Which of my defects have I had most of my life, and are like survival skills? How did each defect (or pattern or defense or role or mask) protect me?
• Which unhealthy behaviors do I seem to repeat over and over?
• Do I fear I cannot change? Does my personality seem to equal my defects?
• How have I changed so far? What defects do I no longer have to act on?
• Can I see the principles of 12 Step recovery as being the opposite of my character defects?
• Am I entirely ready (59: 2) to let my higher power set my character defects at one remove from me?
• When will the pain of holding on to my defects of character become greater than my fear of change?
• Have many of my thought-habits brought nothing but pain and degradation to my life? Do I need help in dealing with them?
• How may I let go through prayer and meditation and reflect on my higher power?
• How does my surrender deepen in this step? Can I relax since I do not do it alone?
• What action can I take that shows that I am entirely ready?
• How may I demonstrate my commitment to persevere in my recovery today?
• How am I willing to act differently?
• How may I increase my trust in the God of my understanding by working Step 6?
• How may I practice the principle of self-acceptance, even when once again I act on a defect against my will?
• Can I not do what the alcoholic in me says, “I want to do” today?
• Do I understand this is just for today, one day at a time?

• How has “my way” landed me in difficulty?
• Am I acting as my own higher power?
• How does my usefulness to myself and others depend on my being balanced?
• How does my gratitude for my life in recovery relate to my staying right size?
• How may I take a new perspective on the world and so act differently?
• How may I grow to have “solution-based” thinking?
• How is humility (55: 4) related to honesty (58: 1) and sanity (5: 5; 37: 1) in regards to my own sense of proportion and perspective?
• AA literature focuses on humility as seeing things in true perspective, as they really are.
• Humility is a sense of our own humanness. We are truly just trying our best.
• How does the spiritual principle of surrender apply to getting out of the way so a higher power of my understanding can work in my life?
• Have I asked other recovering alcoholics to help me by sharing their experience, strength, and hope in this matter of prayer and meditation?
• How is the Serenity Prayer (12&12, 41: 0; 125: 2) an expression of Step 7
• Do I work very hard to act „on target,‟ in ways that oppose my shortcomings?
• Does my higher power do Steps 6 and 7 for me?
• Why are defects of character in Step 6 called shortcomings in Step 7? How is my self-centered fear the chief activator of my character defects?
• Can I see the many faces of my fear (my defects) and not deny or overlook them?
• How may I recognize my fear and/or anger, bring it to awareness, and deal with it in a healthy manner? Can I ask for help to change my fears?
• How can I stop building walls, and act instead as if I want to be happy, serene and sane?
• Am I prepared to take an active role in the new and healthier world that I am now a part of?
• Can I ask for the strength to do the practice? What does the term „practice‟ mean to me?
• Has my sense of perspective been out of proportion lately?
• How may I accept my powerlessness over my shortcomings as well as my alcoholism?
• How may I humbly ask for strength, practice spiritual principles, and get out of my higher power‟s way?
• Can I become more conscious of my motives and intentions before I act?
• Instead of fear and anger, can I respond with love and patience?
• May I practice trust and being worthy, by practicing being responsible?
• Today, can I do what the alcoholic in me says, “I don‟t want to do”?
• Have there been times when I have been able to refrain from acting on a character defect and to practice a spiritual principle instead? Do I recognize this as the higher power of my understanding working in my life?

We suggest to follow your sponsor's suggestions in working step 8

• How is making amends a commitment to a continuous process of change?
• Why is making amends more than just saying, “I‟m sorry?”
• What about financial amends? What behaviors do I need to amend?
• Do I owe amends to people who have also harmed me?
• Do I owe amends to anyone who is dead? What was special about that person that I might be able to use in planning my amends?
• Am I genuine in making my amends, or do I have hidden motives, such as to gain acceptance or love from someone else, or to prove them wrong and me right?
• Can I let go of the outcome, knowing that I have no control over the other person‟s response?
• Will I be harming the person or others further by making amends?
• When I feel guilty, do I put them in the position of having to take care of me?
• Talk with your sponsor and other group members about how these amends might be made.
• How may I accept responsibility for the harm I caused and for repairing that harm? How may I give of myself and be of service to others?
• May I accept that my love and tolerance also extend to myself?
• How may I let go of all my expectations about how my amends will be received?
• For what have I forgiven myself?
• How may I accept that my recovery is the „living amend‟ I make to myself?

• How may I work Step 10 to keep me within this day?
• What did I do today that worked and did not work to give me and others serenity and peace of mind?
• Can I determine my responsibility and do what is necessary to set things straight, and let go of the outcome?
• Have I been resentful, selfish, dishonest, or afraid today?
• Today have I allowed myself to become too Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired?
• Have I kept something to myself that I should have discussed with my sponsor?
• Was there fear in my life today?
• Have I harmed others, directly, or indirectly, today? How?
• Do I owe any apologies or amends? Where was I wrong?
• Was I out of bounds? Did I make mistakes; miss the mark?
• If I could do it over again, what would I do differently?
• How might I do better next time?
• Do I watch for my selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear as I go through the day?
• Do I ask a higher power of my understanding to remove these at once, because I am now watching and I am starting to be awake?
• Do I turn that force of my self-willfulness toward good for others?
• Have I ceased fighting anything or anyone – even alcohol?
• Have I been restored to sanity? Is this the sanity of Step 2?
• Has my spiritual malady been overcome; have I straightened out mentally (meaning the obsession of the mind that takes me to a drink)?
• Am I …recovered…?
• Is it enough for me just to stay sober? Have I been letting up on my spiritual program of action and resting on my laurels?
• How may I not forget how important my happiness and my comfort (my serenity and peace of mind) are, one day at a time?
• How may I do the work of recovery, regardless of how I feel?
• How may I be honest with myself, about myself, while an event is still happening?
• When I make a mistake do I think I am the mistake, or that it was human error?
• What have I done today about which I feel positive?
• How may I know which principles I need to practice in a given situation?

• Step 11 begins with the word sought, the past tense of “to seek”; how and what am I seeking? Do I have a specific spiritual path?
• What is my understanding of the differences between religion and spirituality? What have I done to explore my own spirituality?
• Do I recognize that a moment of silence is meditation, where I may quiet my mind on a regular basis so that I can gain understanding and knowledge from my higher power – my own unsuspected inner resource?
• The Big Book authors speak of the Retire at night meditation / prayer (86:1): …Review our day. Were we resentful, selfish, dishonest, or afraid?
• Were we thinking of ourselves most of the time? … After making our review we ask God [of our understanding]’s forgiveness and inquire, what corrective measures should be taken? (86: 1)
• Why do we pray only for knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry that out?
• How does humility apply to this?
• How may I clear away my insistence that I want or I need something, and let things be?
• How may I remember that I am not in charge of the world?
• How may I have the faith and courage to seek the knowledge, the will and the power to live my life in a way that brings serenity and peace of mind?
• How may I pass on to others my inner knowing of creation‟s deep wish of well being for me and others?
• How may I make a commitment to the practice of regular meditation and prayer?
• Have I meditated and prayed today?

• What is my overall experience as a result of working the Steps?
• By doing my own work in Steps 1 through 11, have I developed a new way of thinking, feeling and acting, and connecting with others?
• Is it my experience that I have undergone a profound alteration in [my] reaction to life?
• Have I had a personality change sufficient to bring about recovery?
• What lasting changes have resulted from my spiritual awakening?
• Having awakened to the reality that I too am a good and caring person, can I invite others to see themselves the way that a loving higher power might see them, rather than from their own distorted or antagonistic outlook?
• What is this message that is referred to in Step 12?
• In my experience, does this message include that there is hope, we are not alone, we can stay sober, and we can recover?
• Did someone carry the message to me?
• Why was an AA member able to reach me in a way that no one else ever had?
• What kind of service work am I doing today to carry the message?
• What are the step-by-step requirements for Twelfth Step work?
• May I share who I am, where I have come from, and how it is for me now?
• What does it mean to me to practice? Does it mean „to keep trying‟?
• What does it mean to practice these principles (60: 0) in all my affairs?
• Do I find life offering opportunities to repeatedly experience my old shortcomings, my old patterns, my old behaviors, my old actor‟s roles, my old thought-habits and my old motives, but each time with new understanding?
• How may I deeply wish that others, including myself, may be happy, joyous, and free?
• How may I understand that sometimes the best way of loving and helping is to stop enabling someone else to drink?
• What is my attitude about sponsorship? What is my attitude about service?
• How may I practice spiritual principles, such as compassion, regardless of how I feel?
• If my disease is often expressed as self-centeredness, how may I express my recovery as selfless service?