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STEP 1
How to take it: (Suggestions)
a) Take this step with a member of the group.
b) Read each question out loud, mark yes or no to each one; and
c) If you are convinced of each question, you will be feeling comfortable with
Step 1, and should move to the next step.
What should I do if I’m not convinced?
a) Let a member of the group know of your problem. Review the step with him/her. Pinpoint the part of the step you are having problems with. BE HONEST!
b) Prior to Step 1 I had to be willing to go to any length! Am I sincere?
c) Read and re-read the chapter which carries the main thrust on Step 1, namely, “More About Alcoholism,” pages 30-43. Read it 100 times if necessary.
d) Go to as many meetings as possible hearing and listening for the words that will help convince you.
What I am convinced of when I say:
“WE ADMITTED WE ARE POWERLESS OVER ALCOHOLISM – THAT OUR LIVES HAD BECOME UNMANAGEABLE.”
1. I am convinced that I have lost the ability to control my addiction(s). I cannot guarantee what will happen once I engage in them because of my alcoholism. YES_____ NO_____
2. I am convinced that I have lost the power to choose whether I will engage in my addictions or not; I can’t rely on my own will power to stop myself from using them, because of my alcoholism. YES_____ NO_____
3. I am convinced that I have an illness or disease called alcoholism. I’m sick spiritually, mentally, and physically, but I can get well. Spiritually sick means excessive thought of self, self-centred, self-will run riot. Mentally sick means the thought or idea I will somehow, someday control and enjoy my addiction(s). Physically sick means I have an allergy, a craving for more develops with each use. YES_____NO_____
4. I am convinced my alcoholism is a progressive illness that will always get worse over any considerable period of time (never better) so long as I continue to treat it with addictions and resentment instead of a spiritual answer. YES_____NO_____
5. I am convinced my alcoholism can only end in insanity or premature death if I continue to use addictions and do not treat my alcoholism. Like cancer, it’s a consumer of mind and body. YES_____ NO_____
6. I am convinced my alcoholism is a permanent condition (I will have it for life)-
“Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic,” BUT it can be treated by using a
spiritual answer in place of addictions and resentments. YES_____NO_____
7. I am convinced I have to stop from starting to use my addictions to treat my alcoholism. YES_____NO_____
8. I am convinced that I cannot treat my alcoholism on self-knowledge alone. YES_____NO_____
9. I am convinced that I can never use addictions safely again. I have to treat my alcoholism. YES_____NO_____
10. I am convinced that I have to stop using so I can treat my alcoholism one day at a time (Just for today). YES_____NO_____
11. I am convinced that despite any time I can achieve such as one week, one month, six months, one year, five years, ten or twenty years, if I pick up and use the first addiction again, I would, in a short time, be in the same or worse condition than I was when I quit the last time because I did not treat my alcoholism. YES_____NO_____
12. I am convinced that I can only be defeated by an attitude of intolerance or belligerent denial – closed mind (From Spiritual Experience” Page 569). YES NO
13. I’m convinced that willingness, honesty, and open mindedness are the essentials of recovery. These are indispensable (Page 570). YES_____NO_____
14. I’m convinced that I would remain in everlasting ignorance if I was to have contempt for the complete program of recovery before I investigated (Page 570). YES_____NO_____
15. I’m convinced that alcoholism is the major unmanageable thing in my life. By treating my alcoholism, I have a fighting chance with my personal relationships, my emotions, my feelings of uselessness, my fears and my unhappiness (Page 52). YES_____NO_____
16. I’m convinced of the reality of my condition, not the way I think it is or the way I would like it to be. The reality is that addictions and resentments are used to treat alcoholism. The medical word for a person who has this condition of mind and body is alcoholic. YES_____NO_____
NOTES: