They provide a path toward integrity, accountability, spiritual connection, and healing—gifts that anyone, from any walk of life, can benefit from. Having a spiritual awakening is necessary and unavoidable for anyone seeking growth. Through this awakening, one gains access to qualities like patience, love, and honesty, which transform how one approaches life. Developing these principles was not a formal process but something that happened naturally in the AA community. Each principle represents the wisdom and experience of many individuals who have worked through the 12 steps and found ways to apply their teachings in everyday life. As the program gained traction and more people engaged with the 12 steps, members began to recognize underlying themes within each step.

• The 12 Steps of AA offer a powerful and life-changing roadmap for anyone seeking freedom from alcohol addiction.
• It can be difficult to face your biggest regrets, but moving on from things that hold you back will allow a healthy recovery to take place.
• In recent years, AA has expanded its approach by integrating digital support systems with traditional principles.
• Throughout this page, you’ll find helpful resources and additional content designed to deepen your understanding of the Twelve Steps and support your personal recovery.

Humility is about having a realistic view of yourself and acknowledging strengths and weaknesses as you navigate recovery. If you want to move forward, building a safe community for yourself is essential. If you’ve hurt someone, apologizing and working toward mending the relationship will build a solid foundation for your future recovery.

• Some of your past will be painful, and you’ll likely have to face some of your biggest regrets.
• Who we were in the past does not have to be a reflection of where we want to go in the future.
• Some people require more intensive addiction treatment or may want to combine support groups with therapy, medication, or rehab.
• It’s important to remember that recovery is a lifelong journey; the 12 steps are simply one part of that journey.
• This process is designed to guide us not only out of addiction but into a life of purpose, integrity, and personal recovery.

It involves being receptive to guidance and letting go of old habits and thought patterns. It means being truthful with yourself and others about the nature and extent of your addiction, as well as past actions and current struggles. Taking responsibility for your past actions is a form of love. Actively working towards building your relationship with people shows them that you are respectful of their time and energy and don’t wish to make things harder for them.

Steps One, Two and Three – Letting Go of Control

You put your faith in the fact that someone out there is giving you a new chance. If you are not religious or spiritual, some people find their higher power is their Higher Self — the self free from addiction. Many moments that you experience in recovery are going to test your faith.

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions ASL – Introduction

Through consistent practice, Step 11 fosters peace, clarity, and a stronger sense of purpose in our daily lives. The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous were introduced in the 1939 Big Book as a spiritual program designed to help those struggling with substance abuse find freedom and healing. The twelve step model has since transformed millions of lives, guiding people through personal recovery by emphasizing spiritual awakening, self-examination, and helping others.

Character defects often serve as coping mechanisms, ultimately preventing one from living authentically and practicing spiritual principles. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs. It takes great courage and honesty to admit the existence of a problem and ask for help. The 12 Steps are grounded in the practices of humility, acceptance, and forgiveness (among others), making it easier for alcoholics to acknowledge their addiction without fear of judgment or reprisal. They provide tactics for alcoholics to combat the destructive symptoms of their disease, as well as a sense of community and accountability that they otherwise may not have.

Both fellowships use the Twelve Traditions to maintain unity, emphasizing personal recovery depends on working the steps and practicing service to others. A spiritual awakening, as described in the Big Book, is the internal shift that occurs as we work the steps—a complete transformation in our thinking, attitudes, and way of life. It’s not about perfection or enlightenment but the profound freedom that comes from being freed from the obsession to drink or use. Step 10 is a daily practice of self-examination where we review our thoughts, actions, and emotional reactions to ensure we’re staying on the path of spiritual growth. The Big Book describes this step as a way to avoid the return of selfishness, fear, and dishonesty—habits that can block our recovery if left unchecked.

Principle 1: Acceptance

The 12 principles of AA help to guide people and give them a sense of community during their recovery. Addiction is a terrifying and isolating disease that impacts all people. AA is aa steps principles a community-led space that promotes health and well-being to people who are in need. It’s one thing to take personal inventory and admit our wrongs one time.

Once AA managed to help 500 people achieve sobriety, it attracted a more national audience. By 1950, the organization could boast of having helped 500,000 people overcome their dependence on alcohol. Founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Robert Smith, Alcoholics Anonymous has grown to include worldwide chapters, each devoted to helping people end their dependence on alcohol. Wilson, who was struggling with alcoholism, originally sought out help from a Christian organization, The Oxford Group. 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.

Step 7 asks us to approach God with the willingness to have our shortcomings removed, even if we aren’t fully sure how it will happen. True humility means accepting that we can’t transform alone and trusting in God’s guidance for personal growth. The focus here is on genuine willingness, not perfection, as we let go of the patterns that fueled our addiction. Step 5 involves admitting “the exact nature of our wrongs”—not just what we did, but the deeper patterns of selfishness, fear, and harm that our actions revealed.

Have you ever considered how truly transformative these steps can be? Each one is carefully designed to help you look inward, take responsibility, and ultimately build a healthier, more connected life. The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous lays out the exact process for working the Twelve Steps. It offers a precise method for achieving sobriety, emphasizing personal accountability, spiritual principles, and service to other alcoholics. AA groups often use the Big Book as their primary text during meetings and step work. Step 9 is where we take the action we’ve been preparing for in Steps 6 through 8.

Millions of people today2 attribute their ability to live life to the fact that they are committed to the twelve steps. Researched, fact-checked and transparent articles and guides that offer addiction and mental health insight from experts and treatment professionals. Every month, 150,000 people search for addiction or mental health treatment on Recovery.com. Through these principles, individuals in recovery can develop the tools and mindset necessary to maintain sobriety, improve their relationships, and lead more fulfilling lives. It involves giving back to the community by supporting other recovering individuals and, whenever appropriate, carrying a message of hope to those living with addiction. Acceptance means acknowledging powerlessness over alcohol and the unmanageability of life with addiction.

The Importance of Step 7 of AA in Your Recovery Journey

Living with awareness means always paying attention to the higher power that guides you. In step 6, you have to prepare for your sins to be taken away by admitting to yourself that you’re fully ready to move past them. Step 4, which involves documenting every mistake you’ve ever made, is clearly tied to courage. Some of your past will be painful, and you’ll likely have to face some of your biggest regrets.

Many AA members work with a sponsor who can guide them through putting the 12 Steps into practice. Sponsors have typically gone through the recovery program themselves and can lend firsthand insight and support. Indeed, members may wish or find the need to revisit the 12 Steps throughout their sustained recovery—rather than a one-time process, they simply become tenets of everyday life. There are also Al-Anon Family Groups designed specifically to provide resources and support to the friends and families of alcoholics. Even those not directly affected by alcoholism or addiction may find value in AA’s 12-step approach to working through any struggle.

The Twelve Concepts for World Service

Calls to numbers marked with (I) symbols will be answered or returned by one of the treatment providers listed in our Terms and Conditions, each of which is a paid advertiser. Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever non-professional. We define professionalism as the occupation of counseling alcoholics for fees or hire. But we may employ alcoholics where they are going to perform those services for which we may otherwise have to engage nonalcoholics. Problems of money, property, and authority may easily divert us from our primary spiritual aim. We think, therefore, that any considerable property of genuine use to A.A.

Emotional sobriety means being at peace with ourselves and others, and Step 10 helps us maintain that peace by promptly addressing any mistakes we make throughout the day. As someone who has personally experienced the power of the Twelve Steps, I can attest to their effectiveness in helping addicts and alcoholics achieve long-term recovery. These steps are not just suggestions—they are a roadmap for profound change, rooted in spiritual principles like making conscious contact with God and taking honest personal inventory.