12 Steppers

12steppers.org is a resource website providing information on 12 step programs, the 12 step method and recovery from addiction via the 12 steps. We are not affiliated with any 12-step fellowships and we make no claims related to the efficacy or official endorsement of the 12-step programs discussed on our site. Our content is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment. The purpose of 12steppers.org is to provide the most up-to-date, accurate information about how 12 step programs can help those in need.

Avatar
12 Traditions

12 Traditions For Each Major 12 Step Program

What are the 12 Traditions?

While we know that each of the major 12 step programs is based on a 12 step structure, each program also has 12 traditions. The 12 traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous, which is where the 12 traditions of other programs come from, are in place to ensure that there are rules on how to handle internal disagreements and disputes as well as how to behave when interacting with the general public.

A lot of what would eventually become the 12 traditions was mentioned in the forward of the AA Big Book in 1939. Though, the official version of the 12 traditions wasn’t published until 1946 in the AA Grapevine. They were originally called the Twelve Points to Assure Our Future. They were officially adopted at AA’s International Convention held in 1950.

Here are the 12 traditions of each of the major 12 step programs:

12 Traditions For Each Major 12 Step Program Read More »

12 Steps of 12 Step Programs

The 12 Steps For Each Major 12 Step Program

While the 12 steps were originated in 1938 by Bill Wilson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, each 12 step program created their own variation of based on the original 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Here are the 12 steps for each of the nationally-recognized major 12 step programs:

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)

We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.

Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

The 12 Steps For Each Major 12 Step Program Read More »

Scroll to Top