The Tenth Step
On page 90 of Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (Step Ten) it states: “It is a spiritual axiom that every time we are disturbed, no matter what the cause, there is something wrong with us.” For about thirty years, every time I read this sentence, I became disturbed. I thought that it was saying that no matter what was wrong, I was a bad person. Then I came to believe that it wasn’t saying that I was a bad person, but it was saying that spiritual work was necessary. I now believe that it means that no matter what the problem is that if I am disturbed, I should first try to calm the storm—that is, try to get calm and find out what is really bothering me.
After reading the Big Book and the Twelve and Twelve for many years, it has become apparent to me that there are three (3) types of Tenth steps: First, the Yearly Tenth Step (many people use the term, “Yearly 4th step;” Second, the daily tenth step (the literature encourages recovering alcoholics to do a written daily tenth step); Lastly, the Spot Check Inventory.
Approximately 30 years ago, when I became dissatisfied with my working the program, I remembered reading somewhere, or hearing it at a meeting, that we were encouraged to do a daily written tenth step. I have been doing one ever since. I feel that the greatest benefit that I have received from doing a written tenth step daily is to see the positive things that I do each day—it has given me a better self-image—not just writing down my faults (which there are quite a few). When I have tried to explain how I do a written tenth step at AA meetings and Alanon meetings, I have had people say that they did not get all of the information because I went too fast. So…..I decided to put my thoughts on the tenth steps in this web site.
Please realize that the system I use has developed over 30 years, so don’t panic—you don’t have to do it the same exact way. The important thing to realize is that it is good to see the positive things that you have done the previous day and thank God that you did them.
Working with the Daily Tenth Step
10th Step Inventory Form
This form has evolved from over 30 years of usage. Many times I have just drawn it on a small tablet—after a little practice, you can draw this in less than a minute. If you want to print a number of these, it is available further in the discussion.
Notice that the upper right quadrant has three lines with a “┼” ending the first line, a “╪” ending the second line, and a “*” ending the 3rd line. These three lines represent my daily readings for the previous day: the first line ending in “┼” represents the reading from the Bible; the second line ending in “╪” represents the previous day’s reading from Alanon literature; the third line ending in “*” represents the previous day’s reading from AA literature. If in my daily inventory I can quote something from each reading in each spot, I get a plus 1; for each reading that I cannot remember, I get a minus 1.
The left side of the table represents character defects, or the seven sins (or the “plagues”) with the “u” replaced by a second “g”: they are Pride, Lust, Anger, Gluttony, Greed, Envy, and Sloth (“PLAGGES”).
The right side of the table represents virtues, opposites of the sins: Humility, Purity, Serenity (or acceptance), Discipline, Unselfishness, Love, and Action. Notice that the “Four Absolutes” are mentioned (early barometer in AA): Humility, Unselfishness, Love and Purity.
Tenth Step with “B” Grade
As you can see, the defects of character (21) equal the virtues (21). When this happens and the 12-stepper has stayed sober, this is a good day (B).
Tenth Step with “A” Grade
As you can see, this grade of “A” was obtained by adding up the points in the virtue column and comparing it to the number of points in the defects of character column (22-19 = 3). This 10th step assumes that if the negatives = the positives, the grade should be a “B.” This assumption is made because, everything being equal, if the person stays sober, he/she should get a “B” for having a good day.
Tenth Step with “A+++” Grade
This grade was obtained by adding 3 more virtues to the 10th step with grade of “A.” Remember that a B is where the plus side and the minus side are equal. A B+ is earned when there is one more plus than the minus side (defects of character), An “A-“ is earned when there are 2 more pluses than the minus side. An “A” is earned when there are 3 more pluses than the minus side.
Tenth Step with “D” Grade
As you can see, a “D” is obtained when the character defects outnumber the virtues by six. At a -7 one obtains a “D-.” We don’t want to consider anything lower than that.
Print The Daily Tenth Step Forms After you reach the page, go to the “File” tab at top to print the blank forms.