Multiple Formats

This morning my sponsor asked how my Step Four was going and I admitted I'd barely started. I kept waiting to find the perfect format – the one approach that would capture everything important and organize it perfectly. She laughed and reminded me that many people do Step Four multiple times with different formats.

I used several different formats to inventory my beliefs. This gave me permission to stop searching for the perfect approach and just start with one that seemed useful. I can always do this Step again with a different format if this one doesn't capture everything.

So I picked the simplest format I could find: resentments and fears. That's it. Just two lists. Not comprehensive not perfect but a place to start. I wrote for twenty minutes and filled three pages. Seeing those resentments and fears on paper was powerful even though I know this inventory is incomplete.

Next time I do Step Four I might inventory my beliefs or my relationships or my character defects. But for now this format is giving me what I need – a way to start looking at myself honestly. And starting imperfectly is better than not starting at all because I'm waiting for the perfect approach.

I can stop waiting for the perfect Step Four format and choose the simplest one I can find. Just start. I can always do this Step again with a different format later. Starting imperfectly beats waiting forever for the perfect approach.