Alternative 12 steps: The Proactive 12 steps
Below, on this page, is the Beta version of the 4th edition of the Proactive 12 Steps. Compared to earlier versions of the Proactive 12 Steps, there are substantial differences in the wording of the steps, and especially in the commentary.
Beta version means that user comments will be taken into consideration to finalize the wording of the steps and the commentary. Your comments on each specific step and on the approach as a whole are welcome. Please share your comments.
If you'd like to be notified when new commentary is posted, please subscribe to the newsletter.
Step 1:
There is a big split between who I want to be, and what I do. Willpower is not working, and I am stuck in what I do.
Original wording (AA): We admitted we were powerless over alcohol--that our lives had become unmanageable.
Commentary (video & transcript)
Step 2:
Willpower does not work because my stuck behaviors come from fear and pressure. Instead of putting more pressure on myself, I need to live more mindfully.
Original wording (AA): Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Commentary (video & transcript)
Step 3:
I resolve to be more mindful of how I relate to people and situations. Pausing is how I do this, moment by moment.
Original wording (AA): Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
Commentary (video & transcript)
Step 4:
I look at my life systematically, to see patterns in how I have been relating to people and situations.
Original wording (AA): Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
Commentary (video & transcript)
Step 5:
I dig deeper into these patterns. I take the time to understand the emotional logic that is behind them.
Original wording (AA): Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
Commentary (video & transcript)
Step 6:
I understand how these patterns have been ways of dealing with my fears. I see the possibility of facing my fears more effectively.
Original wording (AA): Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
Commentary (video & transcript)
Step 7:
Moment by moment, I notice how vulnerable it feels to be mindful in difficult situations, and learn to accept the vulnerability.
Original wording (AA): Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
Commentary (video & transcript)
Step 8:
As I become more aware of the impact of my actions, I explore alternative behaviors, and rehearse them in safe settings.
Original wording (AA): Made a list of all the people we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
Commentary (video & transcript)
Step 9:
I practice these new mindful behaviors in real life.
Original wording (AA): Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
Commentary (video & transcript)
Step 10:
I live mindfully, paying attention to the motives and effects of my actions.
Original wording (AA): Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
Commentary (video & transcript)
Step 11:
I stay in touch with a broader sense of who I really am, and a deeper sense of what I really want.
Original wording (AA): Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
Commentary (video & transcript)
Step 12:
A growing sense of wholeness and contentment motivates me to keep at it, and to share this process with others who need it.
Original wording (AA): Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
Commentary (video & transcript)
Similarities & differences between the Proactive 12 Steps and the traditional 12 Steps
Commentary: Higher Power as Inner Power: How to achieve lasting change from inside out (video & transcript)
Also: Printable PDF of the Proactive 12 Steps
See: Alternative 12 steps: The Proactive 12 Steps
See also:
- About the Proactive 12 Steps / Key Ideas & FAQ
- Proactive 12 Steps on facebook
 |
|
Follow @MindfulPause |
© 2018 Mindful Pause / Proactive Mindfulness Resources