Step 4 AA – Creating A Moral Inventory

“Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves”

The three previous steps are difficult for most addiction sufferers, but once you complete them you get to step 4. This step is designed to help you tackle many of the underlying problems that may have led to addiction and to do so by yourself. In other words, this is a journey of self-discovery.

This post is part of a 15 part look into the 12 Step Program and how it can be used to help in alcohol addiction and recovery. The full 15 part book can be downloaded for free by Clicking Here

What Is Step 4?

This step is all about discovering the underlying reasons why an addiction started, but also what kept it going. It is also one of the most important steps to prevent addiction sufferers to fall back into old destructive behaviours. 

How Do I Do Step 4?

During step 4, you will write down your moral inventory. The moral inventory has a number of goals, but the most important goal is to uncover negative thoughts, emotions, and even actions that have dominated your life. 

As you can imagine, this means you will face some painful memories during step 4. During the previous step, you showed a willingness to face those emotions and to seek help. Step 4 actually takes you along this process.

When you take your moral inventory, you will look at certain tendencies you may have. These “tendencies” can be a trigger for your addiction, but it can also keep it in place. So, writing down your moral inventory honestly and completely is vital to get to the root of the problem.

So, what are these tendencies exactly? Well, taking your moral inventory often involves looking at your tendencies for the following behaviours. 

• Fear
• Pride
• Anger and resentment
• Self-pity and willpower
• Guilt and shame
• Relationships
• Sex and potential abuse
• Secrets
• Assets 

As you can tell from the list of tendencies, you will be looking at a lot of negative things. But the last section is important too because that is where you start to look at your strengths or assets. 

You will determine your tendencies by looking at past events that had a profound impact on you. It could be a relationship breakup, the loss of a job, or even abuse in your childhood. Dealing with these memories and showing your tendencies for negative behaviours as a result of those can break the cycle of addiction. 

A good way to begin your moral inventory is by thinking of certain places and people. These could have created both positive and negative memories for you, so they are a great and general way to start. Once this goes well, you can move to things that lay a little deeper; this even includes your personal beliefs and some of the negative feelings they create towards others and situations.

What Are Common Pitfalls And How Do I Avoid Them?

Since you will be dealing with some unpleasant memories and thoughts, there are some common pitfalls to consider during this process. 

Do not overanalyse: When you write down your moral inventory, it is all too easy to start analysing everything you are writing down and this can create a vicious cycle. While you should write down everything as accurately and thoroughly as possible, you should not analyse everything you are writing down too much. Try to strike a healthy balance.

Avoidance: It is not uncommon for addiction sufferers to avoid writing down their moral inventory during this step, as it can deal with some difficult issues. It is also not uncommon to write down only things you are ready to face, leaving out some of the more important and more painful ones. However, avoiding writing down your entire moral inventory will not sever the bond between your bad memories and your addiction. Therefore, it is vital that you write down all your negative thoughts and memories so you can face them. 

Not getting support: When you deal with difficult emotions, it can be difficult to put them on paper. During this difficult step, some additional support could be useful; this especially applies to those who have been avoiding writing down all their negative memories and thoughts. If this is the case for you, it helps to speak to an AA member who has done this step in the past. By telling you how the step helped them, it could make things a little easier for you. 

Humans attempt to avoid uncomfortable feelings as much as they can, and this is also the problem with addiction. We seem to be hard wired to try to not have to deal with the uncomfortable feelings. In the previous steps, you learned that it is important to be open to support and seek it when you need it. Step 4 is certainly one of the steps where this is more important than with other steps. 

AA members can feel rather uncomfortable and even fearful during the creation of their moral inventory. Please remember to seek out help at your AA meeting or from another trusted person if some of the memories are triggering old behaviours. You do not have to reveal the event in question if you feel uncomfortable to do so, sometimes it is enough to just talk about the struggles you have facing these negative emotions, feelings, or events.

How Will I Know When I Am Ready To Move Onto Step 5?

Moving on from step 4 requires some careful consideration and reflection. You must have written down all your negative thoughts, memories, and past events to be able to face them later. You should also have discovered all your tendencies towards specific negative behaviours, which enables you to cope with them and avoid new triggers in the future.

It is important not to rush step 4. Since there is a lot to deal with, it can take addiction sufferers a little longer to put those uncomfortable feelings and emotions on paper. It is vital to be honest with yourself and ask yourself if you were truly honest with your moral inventory. If there is something you did not put down yet or examined, it is time to re-examine your moral inventory before moving onto step five. 

While this is a challenging step for many, it can also be one of the most freeing. In fact, this is a turning point for many people in the 12-step program.