Page 85 - The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous

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64 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS
which many of us had never attempted. Though our
decision was a vital and crucial step, it could have little
permanent effect unless at once followed by a stren­
uous effort to face, and to be rid of, the things in our­
selves which had been blocking us. Our liquor was
but a symptom. So we had to get down to causes and
conditions.
Therefore, we started upon a personal inventory.
This was Step Four. A business which takes no regular
inventory usually goes broke. Taking a commercial
inventory is a fact-finding and a fact-facing process. It
is an effort to discover the truth about the stock-in-
trade. One object is to disclose damaged or unsalable
goods, to get rid of them promptly and without regret.
If the owner of the business is to be successful, he can­
not fool himself about values.
We did exactly the same thing with our lives. We
took stock honestly. First, we searched out the flaws
in our make-up which caused our failure. Being con­
vinced that self, manifested in various ways, was what
had defeated us, we considered its common manifes­
tations.
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. When the spiritual malady is overcome, we
straighten out mentally and physically. In dealing
with resentments, we set them on paper. We listed
people, institutions or principles with whom we were
angry. We asked ourselves why we were angry. In
most cases it was found that our self-esteem, our
pocketbooks, our ambitions, our personal relationships