AI-generated illustrative scene, not Nicholas, Hollywood Hills Recovery patients or staff, or an actual recovery event.
Step 7 in AA is “humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.” It follows Step 6, where a person becomes willing to let go of their character defects, and turns that willingness into a direct request for help. The key word is humbly. I’m Nicholas, co-founder of Hollywood Hills Recovery, and I have been sober since July 20, 2018.
What Does Step 7 Ask You to Do?
Step 7 asks you to stop trying to fix yourself through willpower alone. It asks you to request help with the specific shortcomings your inventory revealed, from a higher power of your own understanding and from the people supporting your recovery.
What Is the Difference Between Step 6 and Step 7?
Step 6 and Step 7 handle readiness and action. The difference comes down to 2 points:
- Step 6 is becoming willing to let your defects go.
- Step 7 is actually asking for help to remove them.
What Does Humility Mean in Recovery?
Humility in recovery means seeing yourself accurately, without inflating or shrinking your importance. It is not self-hatred. It is the end of believing you can manage everything alone.
Is Humility the Same as Humiliation?
Humility is not the same as humiliation. Humiliation is something done to you, and it usually produces shame. Humility is something you choose, and it usually produces relief.
What Does Humility Look Like Day to Day?
Humility shows up in 5 everyday behaviors:
- Asking for help before a problem becomes a crisis.
- Admitting mistakes quickly without long explanations.
- Listening to advice instead of defending yourself.
- Accepting that recovery has no graduation date.
- Treating every person in recovery as an equal.
What Does Humility Mean to Me?
Humility, for me, connects to my turning point, when I was sure I was going to jail and an officer handed me water. “I didn’t go to jail. I took the man’s water. He wasn’t a police officer that day. He was a man that saw a soul, a human being struggling, wanting a better life.”
How Do I Practice It Day to Day?
Day to day, I pray at both ends of the day. “Every morning when I wake up, I pray. Every night when I went to sleep, I pray.” In the morning, “I’m connecting to my higher power, which is my God of my understanding of my choice.”
Why Does Humility Matter for Someone Who Co-Founded a Rehab?
Humility matters even more for someone in a leadership role in treatment. Sobriety time does not make anyone immune to their own defects. Staying teachable is what keeps a person in recovery useful to the clients who are just starting.
How Do You Practice Step 7?
You practice Step 7 by asking for help with specific shortcomings, not vague ones. 4 practical steps:
Choose one defect from your inventory to focus on this week.
Ask for help with it each morning, in whatever form your belief takes.
Tell your sponsor, therapist, or a trusted peer which defect you are working on.
Notice each time you act differently, and write it down.
Is There a Step 7 Prayer?
The Big Book includes a Seventh Step prayer that asks for the removal of every defect standing in the way of usefulness to others. Many people say it daily. Others use their own words, since the program leaves the form of the request to each person.
Does Step 7 Remove Defects Overnight?
Step 7 does not remove defects overnight. Most people find that shortcomings lose strength gradually as new habits replace them. Twelve-step facilitation produced higher rates of continuous abstinence than other established treatments, according to a review by Cochrane.
Where Does Step 7 Fit in the Steps?
Step 7 sits between the self-examination of the earlier steps and the repair work that follows. The defects it addresses come from character defects and Step 6, and the surrender behind it starts with Step 1 in AA. The relationship with a higher power in recovery gives the request somewhere to go.
How Can Hollywood Hills Recovery Help?
Hollywood Hills Recovery helps clients replace self-reliance with real support. Residential inpatient treatment provides daily therapy and 12-step facilitation, and our aftercare program keeps clients connected after discharge. Call 323-709-7856.
