The Good in Step Ten: September 6

Step Ten says: “Continued to take personal inventory and when we

were
wrong promptly admitted it.” It does not suggest that we ignore what is
right in
our life. It says we continue to take a personal inventory and keep a
focus on
ourselves.
When we take an inventory, we will want to look for many things. We
can
search out feelings that need our attention. We can look for low self-
esteem
creeping back in. We can look for old ways of thinking, feeling, and
behaving.
We can look for mistakes that need correcting.
But a critical part of our inventory can focus on what we’re doing right
and on
all that is good around us.
Part of our codependency is an obsessive focus on what’s wrong and
what we
might be doing wrong—real or imagined. In recovery we’re learning to
focus on
what’s right.
Look fearlessly, with a loving, positive eye. What did you do right
today? Did
you behave differently today than you would have a year ago? Did you
reach out
to someone and allow yourself to be vulnerable? You can compliment
yourself
for that.
Did you have a bad day but dealt effectively with it? Did you practice
gratitude or acceptance? Did you take a risk, own your power, or set a
boundary?
Did you take responsibility for yourself in a way that you might not
have before?
Did you take time for prayer or meditation? Did you trust God? Did you
let
someone do something for you?
Even on our worst days, we can find one thing we did right. We can
find
something to feel hopeful about. We can find something to look
forward to. We
can focus realistically on visions of what can be.
God, help me let go of my need to stay immersed in negativity. I can
change the
energy in myself and my environment from negative to positive. I will
affirm the
good until it sinks in and feels real. I will also strive to find one quality
that I like
about someone else who’s important to me, and I will take the risk of
telling him
or her that