Thought for today:

Step Ten is a simple tool to help us understand how we are doing, and to identify opportunities to improve our lives.  Our solvency and serenity improve as we make Step Ten a daily habit.

DA Step 10:

10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

A member shares:

“I take Step Ten to help me with my solvency in three different ways depending on the issue:

• I do a spot check inventory when I have a conflict in my day – like times when I was rude to a creditor.  If I need to make an apology, I will try to call that person as soon as possible and maybe ask to meet with them and clear my side of the street.
• I do a nightly review of my day as well, before I go to sleep.  I think that clearing the air this way helps my dreams at night.  If I did something particularly good, I make sure to let the gratitude sink in.  If I did something inappropriate, I seek to change the behavior or correct the wrong I did the next day.
• Occasionally, if I have a recurring problem, I write out a complete inventory.  I will make a list of people I am having an issue with, and look to the root causes of my issues with them.  Usually I find a common thread in all the relationships that I list, which is something i can work on.

“Each type of inventory makes me aware of my motives, my fears, and my solutions.  I get a clear idea of what I need to do to correct things.

“I usually have to admit my fear of losing something I feel is important to me.  Then I work on acceptance, gratitude and humility.

“Sometimes I need to make an apology.   No matter what it is that is causing me discomfort, I always benefit from working Step Ten and promptly making amends.”

Amends as needed:

We also take Step Ten to make amends as soon as we need to, so we stay on track.  Lots of times a small course correction is all that’s needed to resolve things.

It’s important to remember that nobody is perfect, and that we strive for spiritual progress, rather than spiritual perfection.

Ask:

“How am I doing today?”

Meditation for today:

We need to make time to meditate on our time on this planet.  When it gets to a point where we do not see a clear direction, it is a signal that something needs to be meditated out into the open.  If we ask our Higher Power to point out what we can learn from a situation, we will find new perspective.

Affirmation for today:

“Just for this day, I will face my life with courage.  With the help of DA and my Higher Power, I have what I need to live through whatever this day brings.” *

* From DA’s “Just For This Day” bookmark – literature P-129.

Recommended reading:  

See our Fourth Step Template which helps us to take a fearless moral inventory.

Some members, with the help of their Pressure Relief Group, take a moratorium from debt payments in order to get their spending under control.  See this Debt Moratorium sample letter to creditors for one example.

For a detailed analysis of all the Twelve Steps, read Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

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