AA Step 4 Worksheet

Get 12-Step Support With Purpose Healing Center Resources

Alcoholics Anonymous can provide guidance for anyone struggling to overcome alcohol abuse or addiction. Giving you a step-by-step plan to increase self-awareness and self-reflection provides you with a structured plan to reach lasting sobriety.

The Fourth Step of the 12-step program challenges you to make “a searching and fearless moral inventory.” Our AA Step 4 Worksheet can help you name the character defects you identify along with your positive qualities.

Purpose Healing Center knows the value of the Alcoholics Anonymous process. In fact, we recommend that our graduates attend a community-based program like AA, NA, SMART Recovery, or others, as they transition back to daily life.

However, we also know that some people need a helping hand to make positive changes to achieve sobriety.

Our inpatient and outpatient addiction treatment centers are available in Phoenix and Scottsdale to support recovery for those who need additional recovery programs.

Please read on to discover how to complete the fourth step – inventory and introspection. We invite you to bookmark this post or print out our AA Step 4 worksheet before you leave.

Alcoholics Anonymous 4th Step: Fearless Moral Inventory Process

Taking inventory of your behavior and beliefs can be one of the most challenging Steps of AA. It’s hard to look in the mirror and commit to paper the exact nature of your innermost thoughts.

But it’s essential to examine those feelings, accept them, and move beyond them. If you are looking ahead to the 4th Step but would like support and resources for the prior steps, we have you covered:

• Step 1 AA Worksheet
• Step 2 AA Worksheet
• Step 3 AA Worksheet
• A Worksheet Specific to the 4th Step Inventory Process
• Step 8 AA Worksheet

Working Through Our Fourth Step Worksheet

Are you ready to examine your beliefs and attitudes? Here are the key components of our Step 4 inventory worksheet:

Page One: Examining the Emotions or Behaviors That Led to Addiction

The first page of our 2-page Fourth Step worksheet requires you to read five questions, reflect, and write out honest answers.

Remember that this worksheet is for your eyes alone. You can complete it and burn it as a symbol of your embrace of AA & NA and leaving behind the ashes of your past life in addiction.

Or, you may choose to share it with a trusted friend, therapist, or your AA sponsor. That choice is yours alone to make.

What past actions or decisions do you feel ashamed of, and how have they impacted your relationships?

Reflect on times when you may have fallen short. Consider how these times may have harmed your family, friends, or colleagues.

Keep your answer to this reflection in mind. You will need to consider it more closely in future Steps of the AA or NA 12-step programs.

Identify moments when fear has influenced your choices. How did these fears shape your behavior?

An old saying explains how fear can be a powerful motivator. What that adage overlooks is how fear can also lead to poor decision-making.

Think back to an occasion when you made a decision based on fears instead of facts. Explain how those fears may have influenced parts of your life.

How has your pride or ego affected your interactions with friends or family?

Consider whether your pride or ego made you feel invincible. For example, did you engage in sexual conduct without regard to possible complications like an unwanted pregnancy or STD?

Describe how it got in the way of owning up to your mistakes may have impacted the lives of your loved ones.

What resentments do you hold; how do they impact your emotional well-being?

Grudges are far too heavy to carry; you eventually buckle under the tremendous weight. Who are you angry with? Why do you resent them?

Decide now to forgive them so you can complete the 4th Step. Releasing the weight makes a big difference in how making progress in your sobriety.

Have you been dishonest with yourself or others, and what were the consequences?

Think about times when you were untruthful in your interactions. Did that come from a place of selfishness or a need to protect yourself from your innermost fear?

Understanding why you did not tell the truth helps you see any possible harm done with greater clarity. That can help you repair the damage at a future point in the 12-step program. But for now, it’s all about getting rid of the anger you hold for yourself.

Page Two: Negative Feelings Versus Personal Strengths

Now that you’ve reflected on open-ended questions, you are ready to finalize the Fourth Step inventory. You’ll make a list in the two columns on page two of the 4th Step inventory sheet.

The first column is where you will list negative actions, feelings, fears, or other driving forces. If you do not name these, examine them, and let go, you are not ready to continue past the 4th Step inventory.

The second column allows you to list the beneficial traits you already have. These will help you move past the fourth step inventory and continue the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) program.

You’ve got this! Remember, you can also call your sponsor for emotional support and encouragement.

Page Two: Positive Affirmations

After completing the moral inventory list, it’s time to accept yourself. You are a person worthy of lasting sobriety and a better life.

Saying these affirmations to yourself each day can help you continue recovering.

Pay attention to how good it feels when you treat yourself kindly:

Daily Affirmations:

• I am ready to leave past mistakes behind me.
• I am making a conscious effort to change.
• I am worthy of self-love and self-respect.
• I am building a better life for myself and my loved ones.
• I am releasing grudges and resentment.

While affirmations are not an official part of the AA Big Book and Step 4 moral inventory, the process of stating kind words to yourself is a scientifically proven way to reward yourself.

Why AA Step 4 Is Key to Personal Growth During the Recovery Process

According to the AA Big Book, the 4th step is as follows:

“Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.” – AA Big Book

Completing 4th Step worksheets takes equal doses of courage and honesty. Participants search inside and examine attitudes, behaviors, and other things that may have produced negative feelings in themselves or their loved ones.

Outcomes of Completing the 4th Step of AA

Here are some expected outcomes when you conduct this honest appraisal:

• Self-discovery and accountability reveal the truth about your triggers for drinking or using drugs.
• Understanding character defects helps you understand how you may have accidentally affected others or impacted lives.
• Releasing anger or resentment by examining the weight of these burdens and deciding they’re not worth it.
• Becoming ready for making positive changes in the future.

Step 4 can be an emotional part of the 12-step program. Nevertheless, it is necessary for every person to complete, as it builds readiness for the next Steps.

If you feel overwhelmed by this stage of the 12-step program, remember you have an AA sponsor. Your AA sponsor is someone you can turn to for encouragement and hope as you’re blocked by fear while completing step 4.

It’s OK if You Need Professional Treatment

What happens if you can’t complete the moral inventory, but you still want to get sober? We personalize substance abuse treatment programs for people who want to turn their lives around but need more intensive care than AA can provide.

You do not need to search for answers about your addiction alone. Here’s why working with a licensed therapist at our facility can help.

Picture your addiction not as a flat, one-dimensional object. Instead, look at it as an onion. It has a round shape and multiple layers that need to be peeled back to get to the center. A therapist helps you peel back each layer until you reach the center.

There, you will discover the core issue that has caused the drinking or drug abuse. Once you find that cause, you will work with your therapist to address it and heal once and for all.

Peer Support and the Fellowship are Important Resources

Some people can find this central issue in a self-directed community program like Alcoholics Anonymous. But others need a helping hand and won’t find answers by completing a moral inventory. Either way, there is not a right or wrong path to follow during this journey.

You know yourself and your needs better than anyone else and should take steps to seek additional resources.

If you feel you need professional care beyond AA – during the moral inventory or at any point of the program – it is perfectly acceptable to reach out to our team to get the professional help you need.

Call Purpose for Help Getting a Foundation for Sobriety

Are you ready to leave alcohol abuse behind and start a clean, sober life? If AA alone is the wrong fit for you, then Purpose has a recovery program that will better fit you.

We are a Joint Commission-accredited treatment center with skilled staffers who will help you during your journey to sobriety.

Questions? Need more information? We’re here to talk and can help you claim the life you deserve today. Call our admissions team today.