STEP 10

Definition of Step Ten – Perseverance:
Persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.

Synonyms of Step Ten – Perseverance:
Persistence, tenacity, determination, resolve, purposefulness, patience, diligence, dedication, etc.

These notes are from recovery in AA and/or related 12 step programs.
Readers are encouraged to click external links for more detail.
We hope you find them helpful.

Love in fellowship.

Step 10: Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it | More…

Most of us seem to unconsciously judge what happens in our lives each day as good or bad, success or failure. Attaching value judgments to our emotional reactions ties us to our old ways of thinking.

We can search for lessons rather than assigning value.  When we do this, we learn something from each day. Our daily Tenth Step is an excellent tool for evaluating the day’s events and learning from both success and failure. –Just For Today | More…

Perseverance means that people are willing to keep moving along their chosen path,
even when they are faced by many challenges and disappointments. | More…

Now we can take an inventory of the good things that have come to us through A.A.
Sobriety to us is like good-will in business. Everything else depends on that. –24 Hours | More…

What a relief it is to admit our wrongs! We don’t have to keep trying to do things the hard way.We can learn new ways to think and act that will work better for us. We can let other people be our teachers. –Keep It Simple | More…

Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. We need not be discouraged when we fall into the error of our old ways. For these disciplines are not easy. –12 & 12 p.91 | More…

The idea that we can be possessively loving of a few, can ignore the many, and can continue to fear or hate anybody, has to be abandoned, if only a little at a time.  –12 & 12 p.92-93 | More…

A slump can go on for days. We feel sluggish, unfocused, and sometimes overwhelmed with feelings we can’t sort out.

In a slump, we may find ourselves reverting instinctively to old patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving, even when we know better. We’re in a slump. It won’t last forever. These periods are normal, even necessary.

We don’t have to be ashamed, no matter how long we’ve been recovering. We don’t have to unreasonably expect “more” from ourselves.

We don’t ever have to expect ourselves to live life perfectly. Get through the slump. It will end.

Practice one recovery behavior in one small area, and begin to climb uphill. Soon, the slump will disappear. We can never judge where we will be tomorrow by where we are today. –The Language of Letting Go/Melody Beattie 26/06 | More…

The quick inventory is aimed at our daily ups and downs, especially those where people or new events throw us off balance and tempt us to make mistakes.  –12 & 12 p.90-91 | More…

Finally, we begin to see that all people, including ourselves, are to some extent emotionally ill as well as frequently wrong, and then we approach true tolerance and see what real love for our fellows actually means.  –12 & 12 p.92 | More…

When evening comes, perhaps just before going to sleep, many of us draw up a balance sheet for the day. This is a good place to remember that inventory-taking is not always done in red ink. –12 & 12 p.93-94 | More…

As we glance down the debit side of the day’s ledger, we should carefully examine our motives in each thought or act that appears to be wrong. In most cases our motives won’t be hard to see and understand.  –12 & 12 p.94 | More…

But in other instances only the closest scrutiny will reveal what our true motives were. There are cases where our ancient enemy, rationalization, has stepped in and has justified conduct which was really wrong.   –12 & 12 p.94 | More…

We “constructively criticized” someone who needed it, when our real motive was to win a useless argument. Or, the person concerned not being present, we thought we were helping others to understand him, when in actuality our true motive was to feel superior by pulling him down.   –12 & 12 p.94-95 | More…

Completing a daily inventory creates a good foundation for living peacefully. Honestly acknowledging the things we have done or said to hurt ourselves or others enables us to say, “I’m sorry” and to begin each day with a clean slate and a peaceful heart. –Body, Mind, and Spirit | More…

As we empty ourselves of regret by making amends to ourselves and others, we make room for the love and comfort of our Higher Power. –Body, Mind, and Spirit | More…

Having so considered our day, not omitting to take due note of things well done, and having searched our hearts with neither fear nor favour, we can truly thank God for the blessings we have received and sleep in good conscience. –12 & 12 p.95 | More…

When we are not functioning up to par, we need to find out where the problem is. If the day begins to fall apart and we feel overwhelmed and unable to cope, it may be a good idea to stop and take inventory. Examining the quality of our abstinence, emotional or spiritual life is a good place to begin. –Food For Thought | More…

Steps eight, nine and ten are designed to set things right with others in your world.

8, Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9, Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

These steps force us to acknowledge that we are accountable to those whom we interact. We are ultimately responsible for our actions.

These steps are especially critical to support those whom we love the most. The more comfortable we are with ourselves and those around us, the easier it is to live a more healthy and positive lifestyle, and look others directly in the eyes. These first 10 steps help us feel neither superior nor inferior to those around us, but rather equal to all. | More…

One of the major purposes of the last three Steps is to keep us from complacency, to keep us growing so that we don’t fall back into our old, sick ways and perhaps even into active alcoholism.” –West Henrietta, N.Y., October 2007 “Step Ten: Up Close and Personal,” Emotional Sobriety II / Grapevine | More…

We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves. This thought brings us to Step Ten, which suggests we continue to take personal inventory and continue to set right any new mistakes as we go along.

We vigorously commenced this way of living as we cleaned up the past. We have entered the world of the Spirit.

Our next function is to grow in understanding and effectiveness. This is not an overnight matter. It should continue for our lifetime. –Big Book p.84 | More…

God does not choose sides. We have not been singled out for punishment. God is on our side, if we only choose to open our hearts and believe that.

As we reflect back on the events of the day, we need to remember the times we asked God for help and the times we didn’t. And we need to believe first – before we pray tonight – that God is there to help us every minute of every day. –Night Light/Amy E. Dean | More…

Recovery has given us a second chance.
Let’s not waste this gift by hanging on to what can’t be changed.

We all know what we don’t like about our behavior in the past. That’s all we need to remember when we decide how to behave in the present.

We won’t be ashamed in the future, if we take charge of our present. Whatever happened in my past need not control what I do with today. Today is mine to be proud of. –A Woman’s Spirit by Karen Casey | More…

Finally, we begin to see that all people, including ourselves, are to some extent emotionally ill as well as frequently wrong, and then we approach true tolerance and see what real love for our fellows actually means. –12 & 12 p.92 | More…

A radical change in our outlook will take time, maybe a lot of time.  –12 & 12 p.92-93 | More…

Make it a daily practice to review your character. Take your character in relation to your daily life, to your dear ones, your friends, your acquaintances, and your work.

Each day try to see where God wants you to change. Strive toward a better life as your ultimate goal. God is your helper through weakness to power, through danger to security, through fear and worry to peace and serenity. –24Hours | More…

When evening comes, many of us draw up a balance sheet for the day. This is a good place to remember that inventory-taking is not always done in red ink. It’s a poor day indeed when we haven’t done something right.  –12 & 12 p.93-94 | More…

I have learned to live within my limitations and to live up to my capacities as I grow in recovery.

When I take my inventory and remember the Four “A’s” – Acceptance, Awareness, Action, and Attitude I continue learning to live within my limitations and to live up to my capabilities. –The 12 Step Prayer Book/Bill P. & Lisa D. | More…

Two key Tenth Step questions are;
Am I honestly in touch with myself, my actions, and my motives?

And have I prayed for God’s will for me and the power to carry it out? We may ask, “Have I harmed anyone today, either directly or indirectly? Do I need to make amends to anyone as a result of my actions today?

We keep it simple. We remember to ask…

Where was I wrong?
How can I do it better next time?
Was I good to myself today?
Did I do something for someone else and expect nothing in return?

Have I reaffirmed my faith in a loving Higher Power? –Just For Today | More…

Step Ten incorporates the process we have gone through in Steps Four through Nine. We work this Step to maintain self-esteem and harmony in our relationship with others and ourselves.

We do it to stay on track.
This is the process for healing and health.

This is the process for achieving self-responsibility and self-esteem. –The Language of Letting Go/Melody Beattie | More…

We ask ourselves, ‘Is what I’m doing okay?’
If it is, then we take pride in the way we are acting.

If not, we change our behavior.
Step Ten keeps us in the right direction. –Keep It Simple | More…

Many of us have lived our entire lives in revolt. A thorough self-examination can show us how we react to the world around us.

Regular inventory allows us to examine the patterns in our reactions to life and see if we are prone to chronic rebelliousness.

Sometimes we will find that, while we may usually go along with what is suggested to us rather than risk rejection, we secretly harbour resentments against authority.

If left to themselves, these resentments can lead us away from our program of recovery. The inventory process allows us to uncover, evaluate, and alter our rebellious patterns.

We can’t change the world by taking an inventory, but we can change the way we react to it. –Just For Today | More…

Resentments, justified or not, are dangerous to our ongoing recovery. To stay clean, we must find the capacity to let go of our resentments, the capacity to forgive.

We first develop this capacity in working Steps Eight and Nine, and we keep it alive by regularly taking the Tenth Step. Sometimes when we are unwilling to forgive, it helps to remember that we, too, may someday require another person’s forgiveness.

Haven’t we all, at one time or another, done something that we deeply regretted?  And aren’t we healed in some measure when others accept our sincere amends?

An attitude of forgiveness is a little easier to develop when we remember that we are all doing the very best we can. And someday we, too, will need forgiveness. –Just For Today | More…

Often, as we review each day, only the closest scrutiny will reveal what our true motives were. There are cases where our ancient enemy rationalization has stepped in and has justified conduct which was really wrong.The temptation here is to imagine that we had good motives and reasons when we really hadn’t. –As Bill Sees It | More… (p.296)

We ask ourselves, ‘Is what I’m doing okay?’
If it is, then we take pride in the way we are acting.

If not, we change our behavior.
Step Ten keeps us in the right direction. –Keep It Simple | More…

Keeping a Tenth Step journal about my day-to-day life, my relations with other people, and the stuff that still roiled around in my head helped me see patterns in my thoughts and behavior, which I could discuss with my sponsor.

And once I began to sit quietly, reflect on what I’d written, and pray, I began to sleep peacefully for the first time in my life. –Manchester, N.H., March 2001/Grapevine | More…

The spiritual axiom referred to in the Tenth Step–”every time we are disturbed, no matter what the cause, there is something wrong with us” – also tells me that there are no exceptions to it.

I am responsible for not reacting negatively. Regardless of what is happening around me I will always have the prerogative, and the responsibility, of choosing what happens within me. I am the creator of my own reality. –Daily Reflections | More…

. . .. and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. –Daily Reflections 08/10 | More…

We have entered the world of the Spirit and strive to grow in understanding and effectiveness. This takes practice and means we have to keep on keeping on. We are beginning to trudge the road of Happy Destiny, and this takes diligence. | More…

Bill W. considered each step to be a spiritual principle in and of itself. The most important of these is Humility.

Core Spiritual Principles of the Program:  Willingness, Open-mindedness, Honesty. AA’s Code:  Love and Tolerance of Other.

The Principles of the Twelve Steps

Step One:            Honesty
Step Two:            Hope
Step Three:         Faith (Surrender)
Step Four:           Courage
Step Five:            Integrity
Step Six:              Willingness
Step Seven:         Humility
Step Eight:          Brotherly love
Step Nine:           Discipline
Step Ten:             Perseverance
Step Eleven:       Awareness
Step Twelve:      Service (Charity)

The relative success of the A.A. program seems to be due to the fact that an alcoholic who no longer drinks has an exceptional faculty for “reaching” and helping an uncontrolled drinker.

The heart of the suggested program of personal recovery is contained in Twelve Steps describing the experience of the earliest members of the Society.

The five principles of the Twelve Step Program are; membership requirement, spiritual basis, personal inventory, restitution, and helping others. | More…

There is a direct coupling of the Tenth Step and Step Two.
The more sanity, the quicker the admission that I am wrong.

It is much easier today to get rid of an overreaction at the thought level before it becomes a spoken word and then a physical act.

Now I can see that sanity is steadily being restored to me so that I can use the other Steps to greater advantage. –March 1981/”Sanity,”  Step By Step/Grapevine

We review our past performance and our present behavior to see what we want to keep and what we want to discard. As each day ends, we find it beneficial to take some moments to spend time with our Higher Power. We can begin to reflect on what will benefit our program of spiritual growth most in the coming day. We think about the areas in which we have grown recently, and target areas that still require work. What more fitting way to end the day? –Just For Today | More…

Attaching value judgments to our emotional reactions ties us to our old ways of thinking. We can change the way we think about the incidents of everyday life, viewing them as opportunities for growth, not as good or bad. We can search for lessons rather than assigning value. When we do this, we learn something from each day. Our daily Tenth Step is an excellent tool for evaluating the day’s events and learning from both success and failure. –Just For Today | More…

The daily inventory is a tool we can use to simplify our lives. Here’s one simple approach to the daily inventory. We monitor the positive aspects of our lives in our daily inventory. What has given us satisfaction today? Were we productive? Responsible? Kind? Loving? Did we give unselfishly of ourselves? Did we fully experience the love and beauty the day offered us? What did we do today that we would want to do again? –Just For Today | More…

The building blocks to knowledge and wisdom are constructed through the lessons of our character defects if we constructively review our conduct each day, asking where we are resentful, selfish, dishonest, or afraid. In constructive review we ask, “what will I do next time?” With constructive review we progressively eliminate the defect and replace it with wisdom. –Elders Meditations | More…

1. What did I do today that I like and respect myself for?
2. What did I do for someone else today?
3. What happened today that I enjoyed and appreciated that had nothing whatever to do with me?
4. Where did I have problems today?