In one of my current Step Studies we have completed our Steps up to Step 8. Of course that means that we have done our Inventories. However, I had a person decide that they needed to add more to their inventory before they could keep progressing forward. This being their first time through the Steps, they didn’t know if that was “allowed”. I was thrilled at the question!

In almost 25 years of working in recovery, I find that people normally race through the 4th Step as quickly as they can. It ain’t fun. The thing is that the more detail we can put in our inventory, the better the result tends to be. So when my friend wanted to go back and add more I was elated. It showed a true desire for growth rather than just completion of the task.

Working the Steps is an exercise in patience. It is also something that makes us progress in our lives. But sometimes it’s a good idea to go backward in order to…

–Rise Up!!