12 Steps of NA - The Ultimate Cheat Sheet

Posted Jun 26, 2022

Everything you need to know about the 12 Steps of NA in one place!

The cornerstone of the NA program is the 12 Steps. Whether you're new to NA or a veteran member, this cheat sheet will help you along your journey of working the 12 Steps.

Here it is, '12 Steps of NA - The Ultimate Cheat Sheet'.

The 12 Steps of NA

Step 1

We admitted we were powerless over our addiction, that our lives had become unmanageable.

Keywords: admitted, powerless, unmanageable

This step is all about acceptance. We accept that we cannot stop using drugs on our own. Then, we acknowledge that our life has become out of control.

Step 2

We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

Keywords: came to believe, Power greater than ourselves, restore, sanity

After accepting that we cannot stop using drugs on our own, we start to believe that a higher power can help us.

Step 3

We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

Keywords: turn over, will and lives, care of God, understood

In this step, we relinquish control of our will to the higher power we came to believe in.

Step 4

We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Keywords: searching, fearless, moral inventory

Step 4 is a deep dive into our psyche. We examine things like our fear, pride, relationships, and tendencies so that we can uncover character flaws and take responsibility for our behavior.

Step 5

We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

Keywords: admitted, God, ourselves, another human, exact nature, wrongs

In this step we take responsibility for the wrongs we have committed and unburden ourselves by sharing these dark secrets.

Step 6

We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

Keywords: entirely ready, God, remove, defects of character

Now that we've uncovered our character flaws and taken responsibility for our behavior, we are ready for our higher power to remove these flaws from us.

Step 7

We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

*Keywords: humbly, remove, shortcomings

In this step, we reach out to our higher power and humbly ask that he remove our character defects.

Step 8

We made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

Keywords: list, all persons, harmed, willing, amends

In step 8, we make a list of the people we have wronged and become ready to make amends to them.

Step 9

We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

Keywords: direct amends, except, injure, them or others

In this step, we make amends to those people we have harmed. We do this face to face wherever possible. However, we refrain from making amends if doing so would harm another person or ourselves.

Step 10

We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

Keywords: continued, personal inventory, promptly admitted

In this step, we adopt a practice of monitoring our tendencies and behaviors and immediately admitting any wrongdoings.

Step 11

We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

Keywords prayer, meditation, improve, contact with God, His will

Step 11 is about maintaining contact with our higher power praying for the ability to understand his will for us and the ability to act on it.

Step 12

Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Keywords: spirtual awakening, carry this message, practice, principles

This step is about sharing hope and the recovery experience with addicts who need help. We continue to live a life shaped by the principles we've learned through the 12 steps of NA.

Conclusion

There you have it! The '12 Steps of NA Ultimate Cheat Sheet'.

These steps lay out a path for addicts to achieve freedom from drug dependency.

Thousands of addicts worldwide have changed their lives by working these steps.

This article is meant to help addicts better understand each step in the NA 12-step program.

Don't forget to check out the 12 Traditions of NA to learn more about the Narcotics Anonymous program.

Aritcle by Eric Anderson

Eric Anderson is a recovering drug addict and author. By sharing his experience in drug addiction and recovery, he hopes to help families who have been impacted by this disease.

Learn more about Eric