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Step One and the Grace of God
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Step One and the Grace of God

Step One and the Grace of God

I've had several conversations over the last 24 hours about Step One. It seems that everything right down to the core of my being resisted admitting my powerlessness. This has been, quite possibly, the biggest hurdle in my recovery journey. Admitting complete defeat felt like dying, it felt like I’d be giving up, it felt like the end. And it was the end—the end of my old life and the only passageway through which I could be born into the new life. Freedom from the bondage of self is a free gift that can only be accessed by the grace of God.

By Luke H., Oregon, USA|2026-05-16T22:04:53-05:00February 18, 2025|Comments Off

Taking the First Step
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Taking the First Step

Taking the First Step

For me, the most important Step is the First Step. Taking the First Step is the motivator for all of the other Steps. I am fully convinced that I have a fatal malady beyond my ability to fix, so I move forward on the other Steps. Step One is a process of surrendering pride. It’s not the end of pride, but hopefully, God willing, it can help create a daily reprieve.

By Michael M., California, USA|2026-05-16T21:57:44-05:00December 20, 2024|Comments Off

Powerless Over Lust—Not Helpless
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Powerless Over Lust—Not Helpless

Powerless Over Lust—Not Helpless

Because of Step 1, I have come to accept that I am completely powerless over lust. I strive daily to apply this principle in all my affairs. I try often to remind myself that I am powerless over what life gives me, be it work, family, emotions, events, or anything else. When I used to relapse frequently, I would justify both my thoughts and behavior with the excuse of powerlessness: If I’m powerless, then I have no choice but to act out, right?

By Amjed B., Texas, USA|2026-05-16T22:37:22-05:00August 13, 2024|Comments Off

Step One Is My Foundation
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Step One Is My Foundation

Step One Is My Foundation

I am 71, married with two adult children, and currently living in a country at war. I am not on the battlefield; I don’t have children at home to care for, or children in the military.

By Anonymous|2026-05-16T22:49:56-05:00February 14, 2024|Comments Off

The Spirit of the First Step
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The Spirit of the First Step

The Spirit of the First Step

In the chapter on the First Step in the White Book, in the last paragraph it says: "A broken and contrite spirit—the spirit of the First Step—is the key that opens the door and sets us free."

By Nelson, Venezuela|2026-05-16T22:58:57-05:00October 5, 2023|Comments Off

A First Step: Recognition

Surrender. I was too strong for that. Too many people were counting on my strength. Too many people would be horrified and hurt if they knew what I had done. So many lies in those few thoughts.

By Keith M., Ohio, USA|2026-05-17T00:30:56-05:00August 7, 2020|Comments Off

Step 1: Accepting Things I Did Not Understand

Sometimes I look back and wonder why it took me so long to finally start living by the most basic and bedrock principles of the 12 Step program. No doubt I was still unwilling to really surrender, so I kept trying to solve my own problem with my own ideas and effort.

By Ron, Taiwan|2026-05-17T00:57:06-05:00December 16, 2018|Comments Off

Steps 1, 2, 3

Once every week an SA member calls to read to me the First, Second and Third Steps as a kind of surrender prayer. When I listen to him it brings me back to the basics of the program in these Steps. It could be changed depending on the person giving these Steps. Here is what he reads to me when he calls:

By Andre G., Quebec, Canada|2026-05-17T14:13:37-05:00December 13, 2017|Comments Off

I Am Powerless

When did you realize that you were powerless over lust and that your life had become unmanageable? Was it a sudden realization or something that you arrived at over the span of months or years? For me, it was an epiphany brought about from the threat of a second divorce. It was a sudden realization of the kind of person that I had been over the past 30 years.

By John S.|2026-05-17T14:16:42-05:00March 23, 2017|Comments Off

Taken by Step One

After Step One in our book Sexaholic Anonymous on page 87 it says: “This is why ‘telling all’ is not taking the First Step. Such confession can be anything from boastful replay to anguished dumping or intellectual analysis. And even then, it’s not really ‘all’ and often is only surface material. In truth, we don’t ‘take’ the First Step; it takes us.

By Anonymous, Taichung, Taiwan|2026-05-17T14:19:46-05:00September 14, 2016|Comments Off

Step One

Step One and the Grace of God

Taking the First Step

Powerless Over Lust—Not Helpless

Step One Is My Foundation

The Spirit of the First Step

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