“Character defects are, by their very nature, expressions of self-will. We realized that by practicing them it was impossible to practice spiritual principles.”

– Life with Hope, first edition, page 25

I took the tack that was perhaps a dangerous and heartbreaking one; I was fatalistic. I accepted other people’s constraints on my needs, desires, and ambitions. I believed that my lot in life was inevitable, inescapable, and miserable. Finally, I reached the point where my disease enslaved me and I was too stoned to know it. My needs were unfulfilled, my passions frustrated, and my ambitions thwarted because I could not see the forest through the trees. The sad fact was that I cruelly and piteously oppressed myself and usually found other people who were more than willing to help me do so.

By doing Step Six, my newfound awareness was making it impossible for me to comfortably continue practicing my character defects. Going beyond my own self-interest and becoming concerned with the feelings and well being of others was new behavior for me. This new attitude was contrary to my prior self-obsession, which had in fact been the root of my disease.

Final thought: Today, I practice recovery by being entirely ready to have God remove all my defects of character.