What are the principles of a 12 step organization?
Admitting you have a problem - having something greater than yourself that is going to become more important to you than that ego need of instinct gratification. Then, starting to work through the process of doing an inventory where you look at your life and you really make a decision not only to be totally honest with yourself, but to share that with someone else. That's what they call the fourth and fifth step. And as you share, you're stepping out of shame. You're also embracing what has brought you to this point in your life, and you're saying, “I am making a commitment to move in a different direction.” So, after you've identified all of these problems, because it's about looking at you - it's not about changing the rest of the world. Addicts always want to change the outside, but it's about looking at the inside. Realizing what's not working for your life, and then being willing to make the changes that will allow you to sustain that. One of those is being willing to identify the people that you've harmed, and being willing to make amends, and then to actually go and make those amends, as long as it wouldn't harm the other person. After that, it's going to be the things that will help you to maintain this kind of lifestyle. That is to have some kind of spiritual connection or spiritual discipline, and it doesn't need to be religion. It needs to be something that's going to keep you connected to these higher values. Another part is to be willing, everyday, to recommit to this process. The other part is to get out of yourself, to be of service, to share with others, to be of help. Whether that's in the 12-step program or whether that's in your life with people that happened to cross your path.
