I’ve stumbled through life for 8 years fighting against the first three steps (admitting I was powerless, believing a power greater than myself could restore me to sanity & making the decision to turn my will and my life over to my Higher Power) all because the fourth step (my personal inventory of character defects) scared me. I’ve avoided getting to know myself. Sadly, the main result was that I’ve shrunk from life, from my potential, from opportunities, from love, from all that matters. Tired of watching the years pass as my reflection in the mirror grows more foreign to my true self, I can proudly say that I am finally taking the necessary (sometimes painful, always illuminating) baby steps through the 12 steps and awakening to my life.