Grant Me The Serenity…

FOURTH STEP INVENTORY

These 4th step worksheets use the wording from Alcoholics Anonymous  (the Big Book) pages 63-71. Text in italics is quoted from the Big Book. When the word “optional” is used in the worksheets, it means that the Big Book suggests doing this but does not suggest writing anything down. However, many people who have used these worksheets found it helpful to write down their flaws and their specific defects. 

Remember, these worksheets are meant to be helpful, but do not feel restricted by them.

You can get the latest version of these worksheets and other materials at http://www.Open-Mind.org

These worksheets are not officially produced or approved by Alcoholics Anonymous. They have been circulating unofficially among AA members for a long time in various versions. Their origin is unknown.

Helpful Hints
Preparation:	before you start this written Fourth Step, read pages 63-71 in the Big Book and the Fourth Step in the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.
Note:
1.	This inventory is not an exercise in beating yourself up. Be scrupulously honest but be fair to yourself. Inventory your strengths as well as your defects.
2.	The following checklist merely suggests what some people consider flaws. You must decide how they fit with your own moral code. Do not be limited by this list--add your other flaws and assets. It is in this Fourth Step that you begin to discover your values--what you consider right and wrong, functional and dysfunctional behavior--and how you live up to your standards.
3.	This inventory is about who you are now, not who you were when you were drinking and taking drugs. Be careful, however, not to blame all past bad behavior on drinking and drugs if the seed of that bad behavior still exists in you.
4.	Don't be discouraged when your character defects are not immediately lifted after you have completed your 5th Step--that is the work of the 6th and 7th Steps.
Into Action:  on the following list, check all of your defects and all of your assets. This is an inventory of both bad and good characteristics. Then discuss your defects (with your best example of each) on the Review of Flaws form.

Glossary of Words Used in Steps Four and Five

Moral Inventory	A list of personality defects, violations of moral principles, defects in character, maladjustments, and dysfunctional behavior.
Character	Moral vigor or firmness, especially as acquired through self-discipline.
Defect	Lack of something necessary for completeness; flaw; weakness, fault; same as Shortcoming.
Dishonest	The act or practice of telling a lie, or of cheating, deceiving, stealing, etc.
Exact	Precise, detailed.
Fault	Something done wrongly, an error or mistake.
Fear	Painful emotion marked by alarm, dread, anxiety, agitation, uneasiness, apprehension, etc.
Frightened	A temporary or continual state of Fear. Anxious.
Inconsiderate	Without thought or consideration of others.
Nature	The essential characteristic of a thing.
Self-centered	Occupying or concerned only with one’s own affairs; same as Selfish.
Self-seeker	A person who seeks only or mainly to further his own interests.
Selfish	Too much concerned with one’s own welfare or interests and having little or no concern for others; same as self-centered.
Shortcoming	Falling short of what is expected or required; same as Defect.
Wrong	Immoral, improper; not suitable or appropriate.

		
Footnotes to the list on following page:
	1Dr. Bob’s Fourth Step List; in “He Sold Himself Short,” (Alcoholics Anonymous , p. 292)
	2Seven Deadly Sins (Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 48)
	3Clarence Snyder’s Fourth Step List (one of the original 40 members of AA, see “Home Brewmeister,” Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 297-303)
	4Boy Scout Law, Robert Binkey's The Official Boy Scout Handbook (10th edition, 1990)(so? . . . what? . . .)

Checklist of Flaws and Assets

Character Defect	Opposite Asset 
aggressive, belligerent	good-natured, gentle
angry2	forgiving, calm, generous
apathetic	interested, concerned, alert
apprehensive, afraid	calm, courageous
argumentative, quarrelsome	agreeable
arrogant, insolent	unassuming, humble
attacking, critical	fair, self-restrained
avoidant	faces problems and acts
blocking	honest, intuitive
boastful	modest, humble
careless1	careful, painstaking, concerned
cheating	honest
competitive (socially)	cooperative
compulsive	free
conceited1,self-important	humble, modest
contradictory, oppositional|	reasonable, agreeable
contrary, intractable, pigheaded	reasonable
controlling	lets go, esp. of other's lives
cowardly	brave4
critical3	non-judgmental, praising, tolerant,
cynical	open-minded
deceitful	guileless, honest
defensive	open to criticism
defiant, contemptuous	respectful
denying	honest, accepting
dependent	accepts help but is self-reliant
depressed, morose|	hopeful, optimistic, cheerful4
dirty, poor hygiene	clean4
dishonest3	honest
disloyal, treacherous	faithful, loyal4
disobedient	obedient4
disrespectful, insolent	respectful, reverent4
enabling	setting boundaries, tough love
envying2,3	empathetic, generous, admiring
evasive, deceitful	candid, straightforward
exaggerating	honest, realistic
faithless, disloyal	reliable, faithful
falsely modest	honest, has self-esteem
falsely prideful2,3	modest, humble
fantasizing, unrealistic	practical, realistic
fearful3	confident, courageous

forgetful	responsible
gluttonous2, excessive	moderate
gossiping3	closed-mouth, kind, praising
greedy2,3	moderate, generous, sharing
hateful3	forgiving, loving, concerned for others
hypersensitive	tolerant, doesn't personalize
ill-tempered1, bitchy	good-tempered, calm
impatient3	patient
impulsive, reckless|	consistent, considered actions
inconsiderate	thoughtful, considerate
indecisive, timid	firm, decisive
indifferent, apathetic, aloof	caring
inflexible, stubborn	open-minded, flexible
insecure, anxious	self-confident, secure
insincere3, hypocritical	sincere, honest
intolerant1	tolerant, understanding, patient
irresponsible, reckless	responsible
isolating, solitary	sociable, outgoing
jealous1,3	trusting, generous, admiring
judgmental	broadminded, tolerant
justifying (own actions)	honest, frank, candid
lack of purpose	purposeful
lazy, indolent	industrious, conscientious
loud	tasteful, quiet
lustful2	healthy sexuality
lying3	honest
manipulative	candid, honest, non-controlling
masked, closed	honest, open, candid
nagging	supportive
narrow minded	open minded
obscene, crude	modest, courteous
over emotional	emotionally stable
perfectionistic	realistic goals
pessimistic|	realistic, hopeful, optimistic, trusting
possessive	generous
prejudiced	open-minded
procrastinates3	disciplined, acts promptly
projecting (negative)	clear sighted, optimistic
rationalizing	candid, honest
resentful1,3, bitter, hateful	forgiving
resisting growing	willing to grow
rude, discourteous	polite, courteous4

sarcastic1	praising, tolerant
self-important3	humble, modest
self-centered	caring of others
self-destructive, self-defeating	self-fulfilling
self-hating	self-accepting, loving
self-justifying3	admitting wrongs, humble
self-pitying3	grateful, realistic, accepting
self-righteous	humble, understanding
self-seeking3	selfless, concerned for others
selfish1,3	altruistic, concerned with others
shy	outgoing
slothful (lazy)2,3	industrious, taking action
spiteful, malicious	forgiving
stealing	honest
stubborn	open-minded, willing
sullen	cheerful
superior, grandiose, pretentious	humble
superstitious	realistic, no magical thinking
suspicious	trusting
tense	calm, serene
thinking negatively3	being positive
treacherous	trustworthy
undisciplined, self-indulgent	disciplined
unfair	fair
unfriendly, hostile, bitchy	friendly4
ungrateful	thankful, grateful
unkind, mean, malicious, spiteful	kind4
unsupportive of others	supportive
untrustworthy, unreliable, dishonest|	trustworthy4
useless, destructive	helpful4
vain	modest, humble
vindictive	forgiving
violent	gentle
vulgar3	polite
wasteful	thrifty4
willful	accepting of the inevitable
withdrawn	outgoing
wordy, verbose	frank, to the point, succinct
Other dysfunctional ways of acting, feeling or thinking which cause me or others pain (specify in the following Review of Flaws).
See source footnotes on page 2.

Instructions for Completion
First, we searched out the flaws in our make-up which caused our failure.
	Review of Flaws
(optional)		
	Flaw	Give your best example of this specific flaw in your life.	
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	Flaw	Give your best example of this specific flaw in your life.	
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	Flaw	Give your best example of this specific flaw in your life.	
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RESENTMENTS

Do not be restricted by this list. It is just to help you get started. List your resentments on the next pages.

PEOPLE
Father
Mother
Boy Friends/Lovers
Brothers
Sisters
Sponsors
Employers
A.A. Friends
Acquaintances
Aunts
Best Friends
C.A. Friends
Childhood Friends
Clergy
Co-Workers
Cousins
Creditors
Doctors
Employees
Girl Friends
Husbands
	In-Laws
Judges
Lawyers
Life-long Friends
Parole Officers
Police
Probation Officers
School Friends
Teachers
Uncles
Wives

INSTITUTIONS
Authority
Bible
Child Protection
Church
Correctional System
Education System
Government
Law
Marriage
Health/Mental Health System
	Nationality 
Philosophy
Races
Religion
Society
PRINCIPLES
Adultery
Death
God-Deity
Golden Rule
Heaven
Hell
Homophobia
Jesus Christ
Life After Death
Original Sin
Retribution
Satan
Seven Deadly Sins
Sin
Ten Commandments

Instructions for Completion
Complete each column top to bottom before proceeding to the next column. 
Thus, for instance, fill in  all the names of those you are resentful at before filling in the column for the cause of each resentment.
Column 1	In dealing with resentments we set them on paper. We listed people, institutions or principles with whom we were angry. 
Column 2	We asked ourselves why we were angry.
Column 3	On out grudge list we set opposite each name our injuries. Was it our self-esteem, our security, our ambitions, our personal, or sex relations which had been interfered with? 
Column 4	Referring to our list again. Putting out of our minds the wrongs others had done, we resolutely looked for our own mistakes. Where had we been selfish, dishonest, self-seeking and frightened? 
Column 5	This Column is optional. List specific other defects to show your participation in the resentments.
Reading from left to right we now see the resentment (Column 1), the cause (Column 2), the part of self that had been affected (Column 3), and the exact nature of the defect within us that allowed the resentment to surface and block us off from God’s will (Columns 4 and 5).
	column 1	Column 2	Review Of Resentments

	“self”

	column 3	Col. 4	column 5
	Affects My	My 	Specific
		Own	Defects
		Mistakes	(optional)
	 	
	I’m resentful at:	The Cause:															
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	I’m resentful at:	The Cause															

																	

																	

																	

	 
	I’m resentful at:	The Cause															

																	

																	

																	

Fears

Do not be restricted by this list. It is just to help you get started. List your fears on the next pages.

abandonment
aging
anger
authority figures
being alone
being deceived
being found out
being myself
change
compliments
confrontation
creditors
death
denial, my
disapproval
disease
divorce
embarrassment
employment
facing myself
failure
fear
feelings
financial insecurity	flying
fourth & fifth steps
future, the
getting fat or thin
God
going home
going out on a “whim”
having children
homelessness
homosexuality
honesty
humiliation
hurting others
I’m a fraud and others will find out
incarceration
intimacy
IRS, the
letting go
living
loneliness
losing hope
love
mediocrity
money	needing anyone
not being good enough
not being happy
not being liked
not being perfect
people (specify who)
police, the
poverty
procrastination
rape
rejection
relationships
resentments, my
responsibility
risks
saying that I can’t do something
sex
sponsor, my
success
unemployment
unknown, the
violence
work

Instructions for Completion
Complete column 1 from top to bottom before proceeding to the next column. 
Column 1	We reviewed our fears thoroughly. We put them on paper, even though we had no resentment in connection with them.
Column 2	We asked ourselves why we had them.
	Review of fears	

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	I’m fearful of:	Why do I have the fear?	
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	I’m fearful of:	Why do I have the fear?	
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Instructions for Completion
Complete each column top to bottom before going on to the next column.
Column 1	We reviewed our sex conduct over the years past. Whom had we hurt?
Column 2	Where had we been selfish, dishonest or inconsiderate?
Column 3	Did we unjustifiably arouse jealousy, suspicion or bitterness?
Column 4	Where were we at fault?
Column 5	What should we have done instead?	Review of our own sex conduct

	COL.	COL.
	2	3
	column 1	  	Column 4	COLUMN 5
	Whom did I harm?							Where was I at fault?	What should I have done instead?	
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	COL.	COL.
	2	3
	column 1	  	Column 4	COLUMN 5
	Whom did I harm?							Where was I at fault?	What should I have done instead?