One of the most common ideas in 12-Step programs is that Step 10 is merely a repetition of Steps 4 thru 9. In this scenario, we practice Step 10 by analyzing those daily situations in which we got upset, angry, or afraid, admitting we are wrong, and making amends where necessary.

Most of the treatment of Step 10 in AA's Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions is an extended examination of this process, from spot-check inventories to more in-depth versions which we may choose to do yearly or according to some similar schedule.

But the briefer analysis from the AA Big Book hints at a far more effective way of practicing Step 10. It says, "Continue to watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear. When these crop up, we ask God at once to remove them."

The difference between the Big Book and the Twelve and Twelve approach is that the Big Book is recommending constant self-awareness, so that the feelings which can lead to trouble are identified before they result in action. The Twelve and Twelve, by contrast, seems to be suggesting self-restraint. This difference is subtle but significant. The Twelve and Twelve appears to say that we restrain ourselves when our feelings take over. The Big Book is suggesting an ongoing self-awareness so that we see the feelings as they start to arise.

Why would seventeen years of reflection on Step 10 (the Twelve and Twelve was published in 1952) have caused Bill Wilson to back off from the more radical approach suggested in the Big Book? Maybe because the Big Book's approach requires much more effort and commitment -- more, perhaps, than the average AA is prepared to put in. But if we shirk the level of self-awareness suggested by the Big Book, then our Step 10 runs the danger of becoming a mere repetition of Steps 4 thru 9, a rote revisiting of our actions each day. And that is a great growth opportunity lost.