Just For Today

The Fourth Step – Fearing Our Feelings

“We may fear that being in touch with our feelings will trigger an overwhelming chain reaction of pain and panic.” Basic Text, p.29

A common complaint about the Fourth Step is that it makes us painfully conscious of our defects of character. We may be tempted to falter in our program of recovery. Through surrender and acceptance, we can find the resources we need to keep working the steps.

It’s not the awareness of our defects that causes the most agony-it’s the defects themselves. When we were using, all we felt was the drugs; we could ignore the suffering our defects were causing us. Now that the drugs are gone, we feel that pain. Refusing to acknowledge the source of our anguish doesn’t make it go away; denial protects the pain and makes it stronger. The Twelve Steps help us deal with the misery caused by our defects by dealing directly with the defects themselves.

If we hurt from the pain of our defects, we can remind ourselves of the nightmare of addiction, a nightmare from which we’ve now awakened. We can recall the hope for release the Second Step gave us. We can again turn our will and our lives over, through the Third Step, to the care of the God of our understanding. Our Higher Power cares for us by giving us the help we need to work the rest of the Twelve Steps. We don’t have to fear our feelings. Just for today, we can continue in our recovery.
Just for today: I won’t be afraid of my feelings. With the help of my Higher Power, I’ll continue in my recovery.  

Principle Of Step 4 - COURAGE - Dr. David

Step by Step

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

 – Step Four

“If we have been thorough about our personal inventory, we have written down a lot. We have listed and analyzed our resentments. We have begun to comprehend their futility and their fatality. We have commenced to see their terrible destructiveness. We have begun to learn tolerance, patience and good will toward all men, even our enemies …We have listed the people we have hurt by our conduct, and are willing to straighten out the past if we can.” – Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 5 (“How It Works”), p 70.

Today, if the Fourth I wrote down yesterday is not “a lot,” chances are I have not been thorough; more likely, I have been dishonest by not accepting responsibility in any injury I inflicted or by seeing myself as I hope instead of how I am. But putting to paper our indiscretions and injury to others is not sufficient; we are asked to perceive our defects as futile and fatal and begin to understand their damage. Further, we are compelled to begin learning “tolerance, patience and good will toward all men …” and become willing to undo some of our damage. If I not been moved to understand all this, the Fourth I took yesterday may have been premature or dishonest; today, I seek the courage and understanding to do Step Four as it is intended. And our common journey continues. 

Step by step. – Chris M.

Step by Step - May 28 2026

Today, I realize that my moral inventory in the Fourth and amends of the Eighth are not confined to my wrongs of commission but also apply to my wrongful acts of omission. With that awakening, my Fourth and Eighth Steps, hopefully, will be more honest. My moral inventory and amends I have tried have focused on things I have done or said, but they have not included my wrongs of having not said or done what I should have. Maybe I neglected or refused to return love or support that someone showed me in my darkest days, or maybe I didn’t answer someone’s call for help for whatever reason. Today, I return to my Fourth and Eighth Steps to decide if I owe restitution not for what I did, but for what I didn’t do. And our common journey continues. 

Step by step. – Chris M., 2013

Just For Today - May 19 2016

A Growth Inventory

“We review our past performance and our present behavior to see what we want to keep and what we want to discard.”

Basic Text, p. 29

As each day winds to a close, many of us reflect on the past twenty-four hours and consider how we can live differently in the future. It’s easy for our thoughts to remain trapped in the mundane: change the oil in the car, keep the living room clean, or empty the litter box. Sometimes it takes a special effort to jog our thinking out of the daily rut and onto a higher track.

One simple question can put us on the high road: What do we think our Higher Power wants for us tomorrow? Maybe we need to improve our flagging conscious contact with the God of our understanding. Perhaps we’ve been uncomfortable in our job or our relationship, holding on only out of fear. We might be hiding some troubling defect of character, afraid to share it with our sponsor. The question is, in what parts of our lives do we really want to grow?

As each day ends, we find it beneficial to take some moments to spend time with our Higher Power. We can begin to reflect on what will benefit our program of spiritual growth most in the coming day. We think about the areas in which we have grown recently, and target areas that still require work. What more fitting way to end the day?

Just for today: I will set aside some time at the end of the day to commune with my Higher Power. I will review the past day, meditating on what stands between me and my Higher Power’s will for my life.

Just For Today - May 15 2026

Fear Of the Fourth Step


“As we approach this step, most of us are afraid that there is a monster inside of us that, if released, will destroy us.”

Basic Text, p. 27

Most of us are terrified to look at ourselves, to probe our insides. We’re afraid that if we examine our actions and motives, we’ll find a bottomless black pit of selfishness and hatred. But as we take the Fourth Step, we’ll find that those fears were unwarranted. We’re human, just like everyone else—no more, no less.

We all have personality traits that we’re not especially proud of. On a bad day, we may think that our faults are worse than anyone else’s. We’ll have moments of self-doubt. We’ll question our motives. We may even question our very existence. But if we could read the minds of our fellow members, we’d find the same struggles. We’re no better or worse than anyone else.

We can only change what we acknowledge and understand. Rather than continuing to fear what’s buried inside us, we can bring it out into the open. We’ll no longer be frightened, and our recovery will flourish in the full light of self-awareness.

Just for today: I fear what I don’t know. I will expose my fears and allow them to vanish.

Emmet Fox - May 13 2026

USE THAT BROOM!

A good housekeeper sees to it that dust and dirt do not accumulate in nooks and corners and on shelves. Periodically, the house is gone over and given a thorough cleaning. Too often in our spiritual lives, we allow negative things to accumulate in corners of our minds. We tackle the obvious problems as they come along, but allow the small difficulties to pile up in the corners.

Foe instance, if we are faced with a problem of health of finance, we get to work on that immediately, but if, on the other hand, someone has injured us, instead of handling the incident spiritually at the time, we tuck it away and perhaps pack in a little resentment along with it. Such problems should be dealt with as they arise. If someone has injured you, forgive them now, and be done with it. Take care of the other difficulties in like manner.

Be a good housekeeper. Clean out every nook and corner - and God will make you worthy of greater accomplishments in the future.

And he said unto him, Well done, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities (Luke 19:17).

Daily Reflections - May 12 2026

THE PAST IS OVER


A.A. experience has taught us we cannot live alone with our pressing problems and the character defects which cause or aggravate them. If . . . Step Four . . . has revealed in stark relief those experiences we’d rather not remember . . . then the need to quit living by ourselves with those tormenting ghosts of yesterday gets more urgent than ever. We have to talk to somebody about them.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 55

Whatever is done is over. It cannot be changed. But my attitude about it can be changed through talking with those who have gone before and with sponsors. I can wish the past never was, but if I change my actions in regard to what I have done, my attitude will change. I won’t have to wish the past away. I can change my feelings and attitudes, but only through my actions and the help of my fellow alcoholics.

Daily Reflections - May 3 2026

CLEANING HOUSE

Somehow, being alone with God doesn’t seem as embarrassing
as facing up to another person. Until we actually sit down
and talk aloud about what we have so long hidden, our
willingness to clean house is still largely theoretical.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p 60

It wasn’t unusual for me to talk to God, and myself, about
my character defects. But to sit down, face to face, and
openly discuss these intimacies with another person was
much more difficult. I recognized in the experience,
however, a similar relief to the one I had experienced
when I first admitted I was an alcoholic. I began to
appreciate the spiritual significance of the program and
that this Step was just an introduction to what was yet
to come in the remaining seven Steps.

WALK IN DRY PLACES - - April 25 2026

FIXING NEEDS

Inventory.

AA pioneers once thought of their work as “fixing” drunks. That was dropped in AA, but “getting a fix” survives in the drug culture.

The truth is, we can’t fix anybody, nor can we fix any problem with a destructive, mood altering drug. What we’re really seeking ? what every compulsive person really seeks?. Is to fix the conflicting needs that tear us apart at the seams.

We can fix many of those needs over time if we practice Twelve step principles. “That searching and fearless moral inventory”, humbling though it may be, will expose the fierce drives that are consuming us. Sharing the truth about ourselves with others helps us understand both what is right and what is wrong in our lives. The power to change ourselves, when we desire it, comes from a Higher Power? God as we understand Him.

Somebody has summed this process up this way: “Need a fix? Fix the need!” We can use that idea to fix our needs today by following the Twelve Step program. At times, we may not even by completely aware of our real needs. This too will be revealed to us as we continue in this program.

I’ll start my day by affirming that there’s no need that can cause me to do anything destructive. As any problem arises, I learn how to fix my needs in healthy ways.

© 1996 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved.

Walk in Dry Places - - April 24 2026

Do I trigger gossip? 

Personal inventory.

There is a saying that “listening to gossip is gossip”. How true! If there were no listeners, there would never be any gossip.
Some of us who pride ourselves in refraining from gossip may still have a problem with it. It’s possible we still keep our ears open for any juicy gossip that could fall our way. We might also “shake the tree” if we believe another person has some gossip to share with us. This is done in seemingly innocent ways, sometimes just by mentioning the name of a person to another who may have strong opinions to express.
The harm of gossip lies in what we do to ourselves when we engage in it. There is no way we can continue to have spiritual growth if we practice gossip, even as passive listeners. Spiritual growth takes place within us, and it needs an environment completely free of an ill will.
Let’s beware of any tendency to say things that induce others to gossip. At the same time, let’s tune out gossip that seems to occur spontaneously. Gossip is the enemy of the growth we desire.


It is a real relief to know that today I have no desire to spread gossip or listen to it. This includes things I might read in magazines or newspapers.

AS BILL SEES IT - April 21 2026

~ Page 111 ~

Surveying the Past

We should make an accurate and really exhaustive survey of our past life as it has affected other people. In many instances we shall find that, though the harm done to others has not been great, we have nevertheless done ourselves considerable injury.

Then, too, damaging emotional conflicts persist below the level of consciousness, very deep, sometimes quite forgotten. Therefore, we should try hard to recall and review those past events which originally induced these conflicts and which continue to give our emotions violent twists, thus discoloring our personalities and altering our lives for the worse.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“We reacted more strongly to frustration than normal people. By reliving these episodes and discussing them in strict confidence with somebody else, we can reduce their size and therefore their potency in the unconscious.”

~ 1. TWELVE AND TWELVE, PP. 79-80 ~
~ 2. LETTER, 1957 ~

© 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc 

DAILY REFLECTIONS - April 14 2026

THE “NUMBER ONE OFFENDER”
Resentment is the “number one” offender. It destroys more alcoholics than anything else. From it stem all forms of spiritual disease, for we have been not only mentally and physically ill, we have been spiritually sick.

~ ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 64 ~
As I look at myself practicing the Fourth Step, it is easy to gloss over the wrong that I have done, because I can easily see it as a question of “getting even” for a wrong done to me. If I continue to relive my old hurt, it is a resentment and resentment bars the sunlight from my soul. If I continue o relive hurts and hates, I will hurt and hate myself. After years in the dark of resentments, I have found the sunlight. I must let go of resentments; I cannot afford them.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc

DAILY REFLECTIONS - 2nd April 2026

CHARACTER BUILDING
Demands made upon other people for too much attention, protection, and love can only invite domination or revulsion. . . .

~ TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 44 ~
When I uncovered my need for approval in the Fourth Step, I didn’t think it should rank as a character defect. I wanted to think of it more as an asset (that is, the desire to please people). It was quickly pointed out to me that this “need” can be very crippling. Today I still enjoy getting the approval of others, but I am not willing to pay the price I used to pay to get it. I will not bend myself into a pretzel to get others to like me. If I get your approval, that’s fine; but if I don’t, I will survive without it. I am responsible for speaking what I perceive to be the truth, not what I think others may want to hear.
Similarly, my false pride always kept me overly concerned about my reputation. Since being enlightened in the A.A. program, my aim is to improve my character.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc

Mike L. - AA Beginners Classes - (Step 4,5,6) - 26th November 2025

Just For Today - September 25th 2025

The Fourth Step – Fearing Our Feelings

“We may fear that being in touch with our feelings will trigger an overwhelming chain reaction of pain and panic.” Basic Text, p.29

A common complaint about the Fourth Step is that it makes us painfully conscious of our defects of character. We may be tempted to falter in our program of recovery. Through surrender and acceptance, we can find the resources we need to keep working the steps.

It’s not the awareness of our defects that causes the most agony-it’s the defects themselves. When we were using, all we felt was the drugs; we could ignore the suffering our defects were causing us. Now that the drugs are gone, we feel that pain. Refusing to acknowledge the source of our anguish doesn’t make it go away; denial protects the pain and makes it stronger. The Twelve Steps help us deal with the misery caused by our defects by dealing directly with the defects themselves.

If we hurt from the pain of our defects, we can remind ourselves of the nightmare of addiction, a nightmare from which we’ve now awakened. We can recall the hope for release the Second Step gave us. We can again turn our will and our lives over, through the Third Step, to the care of the God of our understanding. Our Higher Power cares for us by giving us the help we need to work the rest of the Twelve Steps. We don’t have to fear our feelings. Just for today, we can continue in our recovery.
Just for today: I won’t be afraid of my feelings. With the help of my Higher Power, I’ll continue in my recovery.   

One Day At A Time - 4th September 2025

ACTION


“Men at some time are the masters of their fates.”

–William Shakespeare

When I first approached Step Four I did so with fear. To make “a searching and fearless moral inventory” of myself seemed like an impossible task. I had so many resentments and fears I did not know where to start. I felt very overwhelmed. When I shared this with my sponsor, she sat down with me and I took a pen and paper and we started. Just seeing something down on paper gave me the courage to go on. I took the inventory person-by-person for my resentments and sex conduct, and fear-by-fear for my fear inventory. At first it was hard to see my part. I wanted to be a victim. But with the help of my sponsor I began to see my part. I began to take action.

No longer was I the victim, but I became the master of my fate for the purposes of my recovery. I chose to make a searching and fearless moral inventory. No, it wasn’t easy, but step-by-step, I completed it. It wasn’t nearly as overwhelming as I thought it would be. Step Four requires much action, and I must choose to take it.

One Day at a Time . . .

I will choose to take action in my recovery and be fearless and thorough no matter where I am on my journey.

~ Carolyn  

DAILY REFLECTIONS #essentialsofrecovery

LOOKING WITHIN

Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

~ TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 42 ~

Step Four is the vigorous and painstaking effort to discover what the liabilities in each of us have been, and are. I want to find exactly how, when, and where my natural desires have warped me. I wish to look squarely at the unhappiness this has caused others and myself. By discovering what my emotional deformities are, I can move toward their correction. Without a willing and persistent effort to do this, there can be little sobriety or contentment for me.

To resolve ambivalent feelings, I need to feel a strong and helpful sense of myself. Such an awareness doesn’t happen overnight, and no one’s self-awareness is permanent. Everyone has the capacity for growth, and for self-awareness, through an honest encounter with reality. When I don’t avoid issues but meet them directly, always trying to resolve them, they become fewer and fewer.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc 

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KEEP IT SIMPLE #essentialsofrecovery

Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

~ Step Four of Alcoholics Anonymous. ~


We avoid the Fourth Step. We put it off. We’re scared of what we will find inside of us. We may find out we’re mean, angry, selfish, afraid.

We might see how badly we’ve acted to others, to ourselves. We have all these things inside us. We also have love, trust, faith, and hope. We love art, music, nature, or sports. We have power to heal, and we have used it too. The Fourth Step helps us to know our inner power. As we learn about our own power, we can use it carefully, on purpose, to do good.

Prayer for the Day:

Higher Power, help me use my power to do Your will.
Let your power work through me too.

Action for the Day:

Today I’ll watch my own actions and words. I’ll see how my power affects others. I’ll talk about this with my sponsor.

© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation 

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Just For Today #essentialsofrecovery

Inventory

“The purpose of a searching and fearless moral inventory is to sort through the confusion and the contradiction of our lives so that we can find out who we really are.”

Basic Text p. 27

Using addicts are a confused and confusing bunch of people. It’s hard to tell from one minute to the next what they’re going to do or who they’re going to be. Usually, the addict is just as surprised as anyone else.

When we used, our behavior was dictated by the needs of our addiction. Many of us still identify our personalities closely with the behavior we practiced while using, leading us to feel shame and despair. Today, we don’t have to be the people we once were, shaped by our addiction; recovery has allowed us to change.

We can use the Fourth Step inventory to see past the needs of the old using life and find out who we want to be today. Writing about our behavior and noticing how we feel about that behavior helps us understand who we want to be. Our inventory helps us see beyond the demands of active addiction, beyond our desire to be loved and accepted—we find out who we are at the root. We begin to understand what’s appropriate for us, and what we want our lives to be like. This is the beginning of becoming who we really are.

Just for today: If I want to find out who I am, I’ll look at who I’ve been and who I want to be.

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