POSITIVE VISIONS  

12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous & The 12 Alternative Steps

Listed below are both the traditional twelve stops of Alcoholics Anonymous and twelve  alternatives by Ingvarson and Page. Consider which model is most helpful to you.

AA Step 1:  We admitted that we were powerless over alcohol, that our lives had become unmanageable.
Alternative Step 1:  I realize that I am not in control of my use of alcohol.

AA Step 2:  We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Alternative Step 2:  I acknowledge that a spiritual awakening can help me to find a new direction.

AA Step 3:  We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understood Him.
Alternative Step 3:  I am ready to follow and stay true to path I have chosen.

AA Step 4:  We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
Alternative Step 4:  I have the strength and courage to look within and to face whatever obstacles hinder my continued personal and spiritual development.

AA Step 5:  We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
Alternative Step 5:  I commit to become fully aware of how my use of alcohol hurt those around me.

AA Step 6:  we were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
Alternative Step 6:  I am changing my life and developing my human potential.

AA Step 7:  We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
Alternative Step 7:  I am proud of my strength and ability to grow.

AA Step 8:  We made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
Alternative Step 8:  I will do all I can to make up for the ways I have hurt myself and others.

AA Step 9:  We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
Alternative Step 9:  I will take direct action to help others in any way that I can.

AA Step 10:  We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
Alternative Step 10: I will strive to be self-aware and follow the new path I have chosen.

AA Step 11: We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of his will for us and the power to carry that out.
Alternative Step 11: I will continue to develop my potential through helping others and strive to become fully conscious of myself and life around me.

AA Step 12: Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principals in all our affairs.
Alternative Step 12: I will continue to develop my own human potential and spirituality and will actively help others who cannot control their use of alcohol.