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

When I was acting out, I could hide behind the wall of Internet anonymity. That anonymity gave me license to go where ever my addiction wanted. That anonymity allowed me to act out without being exposed, attracting real partners, or engaging prostitutes with the illusions that this method was somehow okay. If my Internet anonymity were ever made public, I would die of shame and embarrassment and face personal and professional consequences.

To stop this conduct, I disclose it in the presence of others. No one needs to hear the specifics, but I need to disclose, on a continuing basis, the nature of my addiction. I do this at meetings, with my sponsor, and my sponsees. I share this with newcomers to SA so they can hear my experiences and discover that they are not alone. Speaking my thoughts out loud exposes them as lies.

The Fifth Step is not an event. It is a part of the daily Tenth Step. Only by admitting and sharing my wrongful thoughts, words, and deeds can I change my old thought patterns. It is through identification of the old thinking that I choose today’s target for my Step work.

I keep my anonymity about being in the Program, but within that Program my wrongs are brought into the open.

Higher Power, help me to always ‘lead with my weakness.’