AA 4th step
Source: Mass.gov

There is a lot more to life than just getting sober. Many alcoholics in recovery will find themselves obsessed with quitting drinking and they stop living. Its not just about quitting drinking, its finding yourself happy in your physical and emotional sobriety.

Step 4: “Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.”

Step four in Alcoholics Anonymous is going to be the true test to if we followed steps one, two and three. We are powerless to alcohol, God will help us to restore our sanity, and we are turning our lives over to God in faith.

Fact-Finding and Fact-Facing

Step four is all about finding and facing the facts of our addictions. We are working to uncover the cause and conditions of our addictions. The goal is to uncover the truth about ourselves. We want to know what is causing our problems and causing us to fail; to uncover our attitudes, thoughts, beliefs, fears, actions, and the behavior patterns. We need to figure out what our defects are that keep causing us to do the unacceptable things that we continue to do with alcohol.

Removing Our Faults

Once we have uncovered out faults it is time to adjust our attitudes, thoughts, beliefs, fears, actions, and the behavior patterns to that of a happier and healthy lifestyle. We will begin to live life for a purpose, to be of service to others and show care and compassion to all others.

Preventing Relapse

By making a full inventory of our selves we will be able to see where things went wrong and know when we are slipping to get ourselves back on track. To avoid creating new problems and preventing relapse.

Within The Big Book you will be able to find a full worksheet to go through the fourth step of the twelve step program. It will act as a guide in helping you to make a full inventory of yourself and correct your attitude, thoughts, beliefs, fears, actions, and the behavior patterns to that of a healthy and happy lifestyle in sobriety.