November 5

“Instead, we come to accept that making mistakes is a fact of life and an essential part of recovery. Step Ten says ‘when we were wrong,’ not ‘if we were wrong.’”

Sex Addicts Anonymous, page 55

There may not be a simpler step in all the Twelve Steps. We are asked to quickly admit we are wrong when we are wrong. We are all human. We are all going to make mistakes. We used to strive for perfection, but the myth of perfectionism is shattered by the time we reach this step. Making mistakes, acknowledging our errors, learning from them, and earnestly trying to avoid making the same mistakes in the future is what we strive for now. And what if we make the same mistake again? We celebrate the fact that we’re still human, repeat the steps above, and keep moving forward.

The freedom to make mistakes and the ability to clean them up immediately are practices we learn in recovery. What a gift! What a gift it is to be healthier, more responsible, productive contributors to society. And we know that, when we make a mistake, we have this most wonderful tool with which to clean up our mess, however large or small. At this point, recovery just keeps getting better and better.

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I cannot be perfect, but I can work the Tenth Step to the best of my ability.