Step 1
Honesty
We admitted that alcohol had become a serious problem in our lives and that we needed help.
Discussion prompt
What changed when I stopped trying to manage drinking on my own?
Secular steps
Example secular Twelve Step language
Many secular AA groups use adapted step language that keeps the focus on honesty, accountability, connection, service, and practical change. The examples below are draft wording for this site, not official AA literature and not a claim that every secular group uses the same version.
Group autonomy
In AA, each group is autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or AA as a whole. Secular groups may read, discuss, or adapt step language in ways that support sobriety while staying respectful of AA's shared purpose.
Step 2
Hope
We came to believe that recovery was possible through honesty, connection, and action.
Discussion prompt
What evidence do I have that people can recover?
Step 3
Willingness
We decided to seek help from the fellowship and live by practical recovery principles.
Discussion prompt
What am I willing to try today, even if I am not sure it will work?
Step 4
Inventory
We made a searching and honest inventory of our actions, fears, resentments, and patterns.
Discussion prompt
What patterns keep showing up in my life and my drinking?
Step 5
Trust
We shared our inventory with another trusted person and let ourselves be known honestly.
Discussion prompt
What becomes less powerful when I say it out loud?
Step 6
Readiness
We became ready to change habits and defences that were harming us and other people.
Discussion prompt
Which old reactions no longer protect my sobriety?
Step 7
Change
We asked for help, accepted support, and took practical action to change those patterns.
Discussion prompt
What specific help or practice can I use instead of acting from fear?
Step 8
Accountability
We made a list of people we had harmed and became willing to repair those harms where possible.
Discussion prompt
Where can accountability help me move from shame into responsibility?
Step 9
Amends
We made direct amends where appropriate, unless doing so would cause further harm.
Discussion prompt
What repair is possible, honest, and not centred on relieving only my discomfort?
Step 10
Maintenance
We continued personal inventory and acknowledged our mistakes promptly when we could.
Discussion prompt
What can I clean up today before it becomes tomorrow's burden?
Step 11
Reflection
We used reflection, meditation, writing, quiet time, or other practices to stay aware and sober.
Discussion prompt
What helps me pause, listen, and choose the next right action?
Step 12
Service
Having experienced recovery, we carried this message to others and practised these principles in daily life.
Discussion prompt
How can my experience be useful to another alcoholic today?
Choose your own adventure, minus the drinking
These examples are here to open the door, not nail it shut. Take what helps, leave what does not, and talk it over with other sober humans who have also survived the footnotes.