Steps Ten through Twelve are sometimes called the “maintenance steps”. By this, we mean that these steps represent a design for daily living that assures we maintain a life free from gambling. Steps Four through Nine were the initial major housecleaning steps and Step Ten is now making sure that the house stays clean every day. Simply stated then, Step Ten is really nothing more than working abbreviated versions of Steps Four through Nine on a daily basis.

There are two fundamental ways to work Step Ten. The first is the daily inventory and this is recommended for members who are working the steps for the first time. This is typically done in the evening. We sit down with a pen and paper (or computer) and review our day. Did any old resentments resurface, or have we acquired any new resentments? If we have any resentments, we run them through the “Fourth Step machine” by quickly drawing the five columns of Worksheet 4A and putting down:

1)    To whom are we resentful?
2)    What exactly did they do?
3)    What in us did it affect?
4)    What was our part in the situation?
5)    What was the character defect behind our behavior?

We can no longer blame others for our behavior. We have learned that every time we are disturbed about something, no matter what the cause, there is something wrong with us. But what about justifiable anger? If someone hurts us, aren’t we entitled to be angry? We think not. Justifiable anger is the dubious luxury of normal people. For compulsive gamblers it can be devastating and used to rationalize all sorts of self-destructive behavior, including gambling. The reality is that anger usually just makes people stupid and do stupid things. Prisons are full of folks who acted out of anger. Many politicians hope that if they can make the electorate angry, they will vote unwisely, without studying the issues very closely. If we can learn to control our temper and pause when agitated or doubtful, we can start to make smarter and better choices – including not gambling today. We learn to use restraint before speaking, texting, etc. Instead, we just say a short prayer for these people or institutions that have harmed us.

Next we look at our fears. Did any of our old fears reappear or have we acquired any new ones? If so, we may use our new tool of Discover, Disclose and Discard we learned in Step Four. If one of these fears is especially troubling, it may require a call to our sponsor to disclose this.

Now we can look quickly at our character defects and humbly ask our higher power to have the most destructive ones removed.

Finally, we look at our harms to others caused this day by dishonesty and thoughtlessness in our sexual conduct, financial conduct, or general behavior. Where were we wrong – regardless of the other person’s actions? If possible and appropriate, we should call, e-mail, or text the person immediately acknowledging what we did and extending an apology. Again, it is essential that we do not mention anything the other person did or use non-apology, weasel language, such as “I’m sorry if you were offended”. We are not sorry for how they reacted. We are sorry for what we did. Often, if we are unsure of the wording, it may be wise to wait until the next day and review with our sponsor before sending.

We should never fall back on the excuse that we are too busy to do this. Truthfully, with a little experience, this entire nightly inventory should not typically take more than about 10 minutes. Certainly, our recovery from the horrific illness of compulsive gambling and obtaining a life that is happy and free is worth 10 minutes a day.

After gaining experience with the daily inventory and familiarity with their most common reoccurring issues, many of our members begin to practice the second type of regular inventory. This is known as the “Spot-Check inventory”. In this case, instead of a formal daily inventory, members simply have achieved a heightened awareness of their resentments, fears, character defects, and harms to others. Throughout the day when we catch ourselves acquiring resentments, feeling fearful, practicing one of our character defects, or causing harm to others, we stop and pause. We say a prayer and ask to have this resentment, fear, or shortcoming removed. If we have harmed someone else, we admit it promptly and express sincere regret (except when to do so would injure them or others).

Unlike the proceeding steps, we really never finish doing the maintenance steps (Ten through Twelve) before moving on. After a couple of weeks or so of completing either our daily or spot- check inventories, we may begin working on Step Eleven. However, we should continue working our tenth Step on a daily basis.

We are now ready to move onward to Step Eleven.