BREAKING DOWN STEP SIX OF AA ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUSWhen breaking down Step Six I like to focus more on the word “ready” than entirely; nobody is ever entirely ready, especially for the unknown. However the word “ready” is a reminder that we are prepared, open and available. Now we can aim at the very best of all we know or can learn. In previous steps we discovered how we harmed ourselves and other people by acting out on our character defects. We learned about patterns in behavior and that we are likely to act the same way with the same defects over and over. All of this knowledge helped us to become ready to have these defects of character removed. So now, at Step Six, we’ve reached a spiritual state of mind where we are aware of our character defects, sick and tired of them and pretty confident that a higher power of our own understanding will remove what should go. CHARACTER DEFECTS: SHORTCOMINGS YOU’RE READY TO LET GO OFWhile working on Step Six we learn about the humility it takes to see ourselves more clearly. We see that character defects and instincts work hand-in-hand. We were given instincts to help us stay alive. However, when our abundant instincts or desires far exceed their intended purpose, motivate us to act blindly, or make us willfully demand that we be supplied with more satisfactions than are possible or due, they then become character defects. It’s important when looking at your character defects in Step Six to remember the basic nature of all human beings (which is the same for all of us). We all have needs and we try to get the met; how we go about getting them is where defects come into play. To be clear, “defects of character” does not mean you are defective, or that you are a bad character. In fact, instead of seeing your faults and failings as defects, you should reframe it as “shortcomings” that can be address and worked on. When we get to those issues deep down that caused the addictions and behaviors then real long-lasting change occurs. We can make a real effort to heal the underlying core mental and emotional issues that have caused limiting and/or destructive behavior. When you’re ready to let go, some of the most popularly destructive character defects or shortcomings, usually include: fear, pride, dishonesty, gluttony, greed, lust, jealousy, grandiosity, willfulness and anger. If we are completely honest with ourselves we have to admit that sometimes we exult in some of our defects- they feel good and we really kinda love some of them! But we have seen time and time again that changing addictive behavior no matter how difficult it seems is possible. The overwhelming task is much easier when broken down into tiny incremental steps. https://www.jasonwahler.com/recovery/12-steps-of-alcoholics-anonymous | 
