Recovery article

Step 6 of AA: Becoming Ready to Let Go of Your Defects

Step 6 is the quietest step, no action required. Just willingness. But genuine willingness to let go of your character defects is harder than it sounds.

From the article

Step 6 of AA asks you to become entirely ready to have God remove all your defects of character. No writing, no action, just genuine willingness. It is the quietest step and, according to the AA tradition, one of the most difficult.

Step 6: "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character."

After the intense work of Steps 4 and 5, Step 6 might seem simple: just be ready. No writing. No conversations. Just willingness. But the AA tradition holds that Step 6 is one of the most difficult steps, because real willingness to let go of your defects of character is harder than it appears.

What Are Character Defects?

Character defects are the survival strategies that once served a purpose and became liabilities. Fear became controlling behavior. Self-protection became dishonesty. Emotional pain became resentment. These patterns are deeply ingrained, and on some level, they feel like you . Letting them go can feel like losing yourself.

Common defects include: pride, fear, resentment, self-pity, dishonesty, selfishness, people-pleasing, perfectionism, and the need to control.

Why Willingness Is the Hard Part

Some defects of character also provide something we're not ready to lose. Resentment gives us a sense of justified victimhood. Pride protects us from vulnerability. Dishonesty lets us avoid uncomfortable truths. The defect is familiar; life without it is unknown. Step 6 asks whether we're willing to trade the familiar pain for the unfamiliar freedom.

You don't have to be fully willing on day one. You just have to be willing to become willing, and to keep asking your higher power to increase that willingness over time.

Entirely Ready

The step says "entirely ready", not mostly ready, not ready for the comfortable ones. This is an aspiration. Most people find they're enthusiastically ready to let go of some defects and deeply resistant about others. That's honest. Name the resistance and bring it to your sponsor.

Working Step 6 in SoberCrew

In the SoberCrew 12-step tracker, record which defects you've identified from your Step 4 inventory and where you feel genuine readiness, and where you feel resistance. Naming the resistance is itself a form of readiness.

Frequently asked questions

What is Step 6 of Alcoholics Anonymous?

Step 6 of AA is: "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character." It follows the inventory work of Steps 4 and 5, asking you to become genuinely willing to let go of the character defects — pride, fear, resentment, dishonesty — that drove your addiction.

What are character defects in AA?

Character defects in AA are the survival strategies that once served a purpose but became liabilities: fear that became controlling behavior, self-protection that became dishonesty, emotional pain that became resentment. Common defects include pride, fear, resentment, self-pity, dishonesty, selfishness, people-pleasing, perfectionism, and the need to control.

How do you work Step 6 if you are not entirely willing?

You do not have to be fully willing on day one. The step asks you to be willing to become willing. Identify the defects you are resistant to letting go of and bring that resistance honestly to your sponsor. Naming the resistance is itself a form of readiness.