AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy aa-alive.net)

February 15, 2026
~ Scroll Down for Share ~
 

Our Own Mistakes
Putting out of our minds the wrongs others had done, we resolutely
looked for our own mistakes. Where had we been selfish, dishonest,
self-seeking and frightened? Though a situation had not been entirely
our fault, we tried to disregard the other person involved entirely. Where
were we to blame? The inventory was ours, not the other man’s.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 67
 

Thought to Ponder
When all else fails, try following directions.
 

AA-related 'Alconym'
A C T I O N  =  Any Change To Improve Our Nature.
 

A Member Shares:
I'm Larry and I'm an alcoholic. When I finally surrendered and dove into the steps I was very fortunate in that I had somehow found a very good sponsor. He encouraged me to stop the mental gymnastics of trying to figure out how all this works and to just focus on the directions provided. All the rest would come later. I was just laying groundwork for the following steps. He stressed that all "blame" should be set aside and just do the columns as laid out in the book. That was easy enough. I didn't really feel much of anything useful when I was done. I treated it like a trophy and couldn't wait for him to see what I had accomplished. I was still operating by my own will. It wasn't until I got into my 5th step with him that he made any sense of the purpose of the fourth. And he set aside the absurd notion that I was to list my perceived positives on a separate sheet. This wasn't about self judgement or self worth. This was about me honestly exposing my part in the things I resented. Regardless how big or small without attaching blame. In fact, doing my 5th step he totally dismissed all of my fourth step except the last column. Explaining that we were there to discuss the exact nature of my wrongs. Not how things led up to them. Only my own wrongs. Again.....without blame. And without a bunch of treatment center nonsense and self help ideology. Strictly to lay bare my reaction to people and the world around me. Because that was how I was led into alcoholism and it was likely the only way out of it. So I encourage the newcomers to be picky about who they seek for their sponsor. And do the step as it's laid out in the book without a bunch of asides.
 

To respond to the sharer, please email dtshare@aa-alive.org and it will be forwarded to them.
(All shares are reproduced with the kind permission of the person sharing)