Inventory in the Big Book

Abruptly in October 1929 hell broke loose on the New York stock exchange.

I expressed my entire willingness to approach these individuals, admitting my wrong.

Most of us sense that real tolerance of other people’s shortcomings and viewpoints and a respect for their opinions are attitudes which make us

He has a positive genius for getting tight at exactly the wrong moment, particularly when some important decision must be made or engagement kept.

Almost none of us liked the selfsearching, the leveling of our pride, the confession of shortcomings which the process requires for its successful consummation.

8/13/07 10:55 AM Page 50 Instead, we looked at the human defects of these people, and sometimes used their shortcomings as a basis of wholesale condemnation.

It is not by chance we were given the power to reason, to examine the evidence of our senses, and to draw conclusions.

Our friend’s gorge rose as he bitterly cried out: “If there is a God, He certainly hasn’t done anything for me!’’ But later, alone in his room, he asked himself this question: “Is it possible that all the religious people I have known are wrong?’’ While pondering the answer he felt as though he lived in hell.

They are not at fault; they seem to have been born that way.

Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. 5.

Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. 6.

Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. 7.

Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. 8.

Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. 11.

Admitting he may be somewhat at fault, he is sure that other people are more to blame.

Therefore, we started upon a personal inventory.

A business which takes no regular inventory usually goes broke.

Taking a commercial inventory is a fact-finding and a fact-facing process.

We took stock honestly.

parent was that this world and its people were often quite wrong.

To conclude that others were wrong was as far as most of us ever got.

The usual outcome was that people continued to wrong us and we stayed sore.

Putting out of our minds the wrongs others had done, we resolutely looked for our own mistakes.

Though a situation had not been entirely our fault, we tried to disregard the other person involved entirely.

The inventory was ours, not the other man’s.

When we saw our faults we listed them.

We admitted our wrongs honestly and were willing to set these matters straight.

Where were we at fault, what should we have done instead?

If we have been thorough about our personal inventory, we have written down a lot.

If you have already made a decision, and an inventory of your grosser handicaps, you have made a good beginning.

H aving made our personal inventory, what shall we do about it?

We have admitted certain defects; we have ascertained in a rough way what the trouble is; we have put our finger on the weak items in our personal inventory.

This requires action on our part, which, when completed, will mean that we have admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being, the exact nature of our defects.

This is perhaps difficult—especially discussing our defects with another person.

They took inventory all right, but hung on to some of the worst items in stock.

We have a written inventory and we are prepared for a long talk.

I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows.

We made it when we took inventory.

But our man is sure to be impressed with a sincere desire to set right the wrong.

It may be he has done us more harm than we have done him and, though we may have acquired a better attitude toward him, we are still not too keen about admitting our faults.

His faults are not discussed.

Sometimes the man we are calling upon admits his own fault, so feuds of years’ standing melt away in an hour.

We suggested he write his first wife admitting his faults and asking forgiveness.

He felt that he had done a wrong he could not possibly make right.

Undoubtedly we should admit our fault.

Their defects may be glaring, but the chances are that our own actions are partly responsible.

There may be some wrongs we can never fully right.

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.

Our thought-life will be placed on a much higher plane when our thinking is cleared of wrong motives.

The men who cry for money and shelter before conquering alcohol, are on the wrong track.

Though his family be at fault in many respects, he should not be concerned about that.

Little by little the family may see their own defects and admit them.

You should point out that his defects of character are not going to disappear over night.

If you both show a willingness to remedy your own defects, there will be little need to criticize each other.

As each member of a resentful family begins to see his shortcomings and admits them to the others, he lays a basis for helpful discussion.

If he means to right his past wrongs, why all this concern for everyone in the world but his family?

Dad may feel that for years his drinking has placed him on the wrong side of every argument, but that now he has become a superior person with God on his side.

One more suggestion: Whether the family has spiritual convictions or not, they may do well to examine the principles by which the alcoholic member is trying to live.

he could not, for his drinking placed him constantly in the wrong.

Thus mother, through no fault of her own, became accustomed to wearing the family trousers.

Of course our friend was wrong—dead wrong.

She sees she was wrong to make a burning issue out of such a matter when his more serious ailments were being rapidly cured.

Admit your faults to Him and to your fellows.