Honesty, open-mindedness and willingness are the keys to the last three Steps, just as they are the key to the entire program.

Step 10 is very much tied in with honesty -- in particular, self-honesty. Indeed, self-honesty might be seen as the basis of all recovery. The AA Big Book talks about it constantly in its fifth chapter, "How It Works," as being just about the only thing that we simply must have if we are to recover from our addictions.

Those of us who practice Step 10 on a daily basis, working it moment by moment to the best of our ability, discover that this Step revisits the matter of self-honesty with a vengeance. As we ask ourselves constantly what is happening around us, what is happening to us, and how that makes us feel, we discover over and over that a great many negative feelings we thought we'd ditched are alive and well and living inside us. Yes, we do feel like attacking that awful person at work. Yes, we are attracted to our boss's spouse when we go to that party. Yes, we do want that new model of car or that new house.

But our feelings are not limited to desire. They also encompass fear. Yes, we are worried about what has happened to our child who is out late. Yes, we are frightened we're going to get fired in that next downsizing of our company. Yes, we are terrified of our own deaths.

To listen to many old-timers in Program, you'd assume that they've long ago got past these feelings and are living lives of complete serenity. That's why we're better off hanging around people who work daily to identify their feelings, so that they can choose to a greater and greater extent, with the help of God as they understand God, not to act on those feelings.