Recovery article

Step 7 of AA: Humbly Asking for Your Shortcomings to Be Removed

Step 7 is about humility, not humiliation. It's the recognition that you can't remove your own defects of character through willpower alone.

From the article

Step 7 of AA asks you to humbly request that your Higher Power remove your shortcomings, the character defects identified in Steps 4 through 6. Humility here means seeing yourself accurately, not groveling: you are a limited person who needs help, the same as everyone else.

Step 7: "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."

Step 7 is short. It's the action that follows the readiness of Step 6: you ask. You humbly ask your higher power, whatever that means to you, to remove the character defects you've identified and become ready to release.

Humility vs. Humiliation

The word "humbly" is doing important work here. Humility in AA doesn't mean groveling or self-abasement. It means seeing yourself accurately, neither grandiose nor worthless. Humility is the honest acknowledgment that you're a limited human being who needs help, the same as everyone else.

Humiliation is shame imposed from outside. Humility is clarity chosen from within. Step 7 is an act of clarity.

What "Remove" Actually Looks Like

The shortcomings don't disappear overnight. What changes is their power over you. Resentment may still arise, but you catch it faster, let it go sooner, choose differently. Dishonesty may still tempt, but your commitment to honesty gives you a different choice. The defect loses its automatic authority over your behavior.

Most people working long-term recovery describe this as a gradual softening, the edges of their worst patterns smoothing out over months and years of continuous work.

The Step 7 Prayer

The Big Book includes a Step 7 prayer. The words matter less than the spirit: a genuine request, made humbly, for help becoming better than you currently are. Say it. Mean it. Repeat it as often as needed.

Working Step 7 in SoberCrew

Mark Step 7 in the SoberCrew tracker and record what you asked to be removed and what that humility felt like. Returning to this note on hard days, when the old patterns are loud, can be a useful reminder of the intention you set.

Frequently asked questions

What is Step 7 of Alcoholics Anonymous?

Step 7 of AA is: "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings." It is the action that follows the readiness of Step 6: you ask your higher power to remove the character defects you have identified and become ready to release.

What is the difference between humility and humiliation in Step 7?

Humility in Step 7 means seeing yourself accurately — neither grandiose nor worthless. It is an honest acknowledgment that you are a limited human being who needs help. Humiliation is shame imposed from outside. Step 7 is an act of chosen clarity, not imposed shame.

What happens after you do Step 7?

Shortcomings do not disappear overnight after Step 7. What changes is their power over you. Resentment may still arise, but you catch it faster and let it go sooner. Dishonesty may still tempt, but your commitment gives you a different choice. Most people describe a gradual softening over months and years of continuous work.