The Big Book states on page 71 in the chapter "We Take Action":

"If we have done all of these [i.e., the previous steps], we can pray as follows: ‘Creator, I am ready to be Yours, completely – the good and the bad within me. Please free me from all of my character defects that stand in the way of being useful to You and my fellow beings. Give me strength on my path to follow Your commandments. Amen.’ With this, we have taken the Seventh Step."

I have taken:

7. I HUMBLE MYSELF TO ASK HIM TO REMOVE MY DEFECTS

As part of this:

1. I regularly prayed to God.
2. I began to let go of my negative emotions and thoughts.
3. I started to reduce my self-centered manifestations.
4. I began to lessen my ego-driven demands.
5. I started to release my false identifications and beliefs.
6. I recognized that I am as (perfect) as God created me.
7. I realized that I do not have to be anything.

Guide for the Step:

As an introduction to the step work:

- Review Step 7 in the Step Book!
- Attend meetings that discuss Step 7!
- Talk to your sponsor about Step 7!

7.1. I regularly prayed to God.

"Creator, I am ready to be Yours, completely – the good and the bad within me. Please free me from all of my character defects that stand in the way of being useful to You and my fellow beings. Give me strength on my path to follow Your commandments. Amen."

I wrote this prayer – also known as the Step 7 prayer [Big Book, page 71, line 3] – on a sticky note on my computer screen and read it multiple times a day. I mentally broke it down into parts.

Sometimes I even reflected on individual words. For example:

... I am ready..." - Am I really ready? Yes. I am ready! "
... good and bad..." - I acknowledge everything within me. The bad too. "
... to be Yours..." - His. Not someone else's. God's. I am His. "
... to be useful..." - To others. Not to myself. To everyone. "
... Your commandments..." - Not someone else's. Not my own. Yours. "
... Amen..." - So be it! Your will be done, not mine!

Additionally, I started another prayer or series of prayers. I transformed my image of God (my spiritual principles) that developed during the first six steps into a prayer as follows:

What is my God like? What are His main characteristics?

1. He is always present, always with me.
2. He does not judge me or others.
3. He gives me everything I need.
4. He loves, forgives me, and others as well.
5. He radiates joy and happiness to me and others.
6. He offers peace to me and others.
7. He shows me the way for myself and others.

Therefore, I ask you, my God:

- Help me to live in the present, to be with You!
- Help me not to judge my own or others' faults!
- Help me to give as much as possible to others!
- Help me to love and forgive unconditionally.
- Help me to radiate joy and happiness to everyone.
- Help me to live in peace with myself and others.
- Help me to walk my own path, and to assist others on their path as well.

I recited these little prayers wherever I went (e.g., while running or swimming).
I programmed myself. This is how the program works for me.

Guide for the Step Section:

Write down (think about) whether:

- Do you acknowledge every character defect within yourself?
- Are you willing to entrust these to God?
- Are you ready to be useful to your fellow beings?
- Are you really ready to be God's?
- Are you willing to follow all His commandments?

Write down any experiences that support that:

- Regular prayer transforms the soul.

Practice the following (or something similar – according to your own spiritual principles):

My God, please:

- Help me to live in the present, to be with You!
- Help me not to judge my own or others' faults!
- Help me to give as much as possible to others!
- Help me to love and forgive unconditionally.
- Help me to radiate joy and happiness to everyone.
- Help me to live in peace with myself and others.
- Help me to walk my own path and to assist others on their path.

7.2. I began to let go of my negative emotions and thoughts.

"My God, please free me from all of my character defects that stand in the way of being useful to You and my fellow beings." This is where I am. What next?

In Step 6, I prepared many things. For example:

6.1. I came to believe that God can free me from everything I have acknowledged as objectionable.
6.2. I realized that I do not need to love my character defects, and I resolved not to cling to them.
6.3. I recognized that I sometimes enjoyed negative emotions and thoughts. I made a list of them.

In this part of Step 7, I took the list I created in section 6.3 and placed it in a visible location (on my computer screen), reading, repeating, and programming it several times a day for months:

I RELEASE, LET GO, AND ENTRUST TO GOD:

- my dark past
- guilt
- self-pity
- sorrow
- fear
- stress
- resentment
- disappointments
- aggression
- procrastination
- envy
- vanity
- complaining
- judgment
- expectations
- selfishness
- my own will

Guide for the Step Section:

Practice your list created in section 6.3 daily, like this:

I RELEASE, LET GO, AND ENTRUST TO GOD:

- my dark past
- guilt
- self-pity
- selfishness
- my own will
- etc.

7.3. I began to reduce my self-centered manifestations.

I read this in the Big Book (several times already):

“Selfishness - self-centeredness! We believe this is the root of all our problems. [...] We think that our troubles are actually caused by us, they arise from us. The alcoholic is one of the most extreme examples of unrestrained obstinacy, although he usually does not see it that way. We, alcoholics, must free ourselves from egocentrism above all else. We are forced to, or it will destroy us! God allows for freedom.”

This, of course, is not true only for alcoholics but for almost anyone.

As part of the previous step, I analyzed within myself what the main manifestations of the ego, which often speaks in my mind, are. Now, in Step 7, I can start practicing the suppression of these manifestations. My method was that whenever I recognized that the ego had spoken within me, I thought about what God (for Catholics, the Holy Spirit) would say in response, and I resolved to listen to Him instead. I practiced these divine “slogans” a lot and chanted them. They have now become an integral part of my way of thinking.

LABELING, CATEGORIZATION

The ego says: He is this, and he is that.  
God says: EVERYONE IS AS THEY WERE CREATED!

JUDGING

The ego says: This is good! That is bad! This is nonsense! That is a sin!  
God says: EVERYTHING IS GOOD!

QUALIFYING

The ego says: This is stupid! That is fat! He is weak! He is bad!  
God says: EVERYONE IS GOOD!

DRAMA

The ego says: Why was it this way? Why won’t it be that way? Why am I here?  
God says: IT IS GOOD HERE NOW! LET IT GO, TRUST ME!

EXPECTATIONS

The ego says: Why did he do this? Why isn’t he doing that?  
God says: LET THEM LIVE, AND LIVE!

DEMANDS

The ego says: This is important. I deserve this.  
God says: I WILL GIVE YOU EVERYTHING THAT IS IMPORTANT!

In the next step section, I will delve a little deeper into these latter demands...

Aid for the step section:

Look for examples of the following among your own manifestations:

- Labeling, categorization
- Judging
- Qualifying
- Drama
- Expectations
- Demands

Practice letting go of your ego manifestations, something like this:

- Everyone is as they were created!
- Everything is good!
- Everyone is good!
- It is good here now!
- Let it go, trust God!
- Live and let live!
- God gives me everything I need!

7.4. I started to reduce my ego demands.

The ego says: This is important. I deserve this.  
God says: I WILL GIVE YOU EVERYTHING THAT IS IMPORTANT!  
Previously, in Step 6, I wrote about the realization that the ego tries to convince me that there are things I "deserve," and these things are "important." The ego frames them as basic "human" needs, while they are simply self-centered demands that I can give up at any time if I ask for God's help. I also collected these, and now in Step 7, I started practicing letting them go with the following principles:

MY GOD! I HAVE NO DEMAND FOR

- being asked
- being understood
- being acknowledged
- being loved
- being right
- being successful
- being smarter
- being more
- being good
- winning
- being happy
- wanting anything.

And in the meantime, I regularly prayed following the example of St. Francis of Assisi (see Step Book page 101!):

“Lord, grant that I may not seek comfort, but comfort others; not seek to understand, but understand; not crave love, but love. For in giving to others, we receive. In forgiving, we are forgiven. In our death, we awaken to eternal life. Amen.”

Aid for the step section:

Practice your list compiled in Step 6.5 daily, something like this:

MY GOD! I HAVE NO DEMAND FOR

- being comforted
- being understood
- being loved
- etc.

If you see that your (external) ego desires are causing problems, you can practice on those as well, something like this:

I DO NOT DESIRE MORE:

- energy
- money
- possessions
- security
- protection
- rank
- profit
- advantage
- power

7.5. I started letting go of my false identifications and beliefs.

As I previously shared with you, in Step 6, I further dissected the ego within my mind. I realized that it produces false thoughts because it has a false self-image. It lacks spirituality and identification with the Higher Self. Instead, the ego defines itself, trying to boost its self-esteem by identifying with various external and internal factors, thereby increasing its separateness from others.

In Step 6, I listed my external identifications and enumerated my internal beliefs. Now, in Step 7, I started practicing letting them go as follows:

I AM NOT IDENTIFIED WITH:

- my life story
- my upbringing
- my schools
- my knowledge
- my abilities
- my work
- my relationships
- my appearance
- my family tree
- my nationality
- my illnesses
- my achievements
- my possessions
- my physical body

I AM NOT IDENTIFIED WITH:

- my belief system
- my political views
- my social status
- my reactions
- my memories
- my emotions
- my opinions
- my thoughts

But certainly not!

Aid for the step section:

Practice your lists compiled in Steps 6.6. and 6.7. daily, something like this:

A) I AM NOT IDENTIFIED WITH:

- my life story
- my upbringing
- my schools
- my physical body

B) I AM NOT IDENTIFIED WITH:

- my belief system
- my political views
- my social status
- my thoughts

7.6. I recognized that I am as (perfect) as God created me.

God created me in His own image. For a long time, I did not realize this. For a long time, I constantly compared myself to others: I am better than him, I am worse than him. I did not recognize for a long time that my own self-centered way of thinking causes me suffering.

God does not create imperfect things. For a long time, I believed that I needed certain things since I lacked many things. Today I know that I lack nothing because God gives me everything I need to be useful to Him and my neighbors. For example:

- He helps me live in the present, to be with Him!
- He helps me not to judge my own or others' sins!
- He helps me give as much as possible to others!
- He helps me to love and forgive unconditionally.
- He helps me radiate joy and happiness to everyone.
- He helps me live in peace with myself and others.
- He helps me walk my own path and to help others on their path as well.

Whenever I feel I discover any flaws or shortcomings within myself, it always turns out to stem from the ego's desire for separation. Therefore, I can easily recognize it and let it go:

- negative thoughts (guilt, resentment, fear, judgment, expectations);
- ego desires (money, power, prestige, knowledge, information);
- ego demands (understanding, attention, victory, love, will);
- false identifications (life story, family tree, body);
- harmful beliefs (faith, memories, emotions, thoughts).

In my mind, two voices can speak: ego vs. Higher Power. At any moment, I can choose to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit. God created me perfect. I am perfectly suited to be useful to Him and my neighbors. I am perfectly suited to love others unconditionally. If I think otherwise, it is an attack against God's plan to view the world as a manifestation of His glory.
Gloria in Excelsis Deo! Glory to God in the highest!

Guide for the Step Section:

Write down (reflect on) whether:

- Do you believe that you are as God created you?
- Do you believe that God created you in His own likeness?
- Do you believe that God wants you to be perfectly happy?
- Do you believe that God will take away all your suffering if you listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit instead of the ego?

Write down any experiences that support the idea that:

- The ego only causes suffering.
- Happiness is a choice.

Practice the following (or something similar):

- I am as God created me.
- God wants me to be happy.
- Glory to God in the highest!

7.7. I realized that I don’t have to be anything.

I know that I am as God created me. Yet, I still make mistakes because of my wrong (ego-based) thinking.

In Step 7, I humbly asked Him to eliminate my shortcomings. This expressed my desire to change my way of thinking. I want to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit instead of the ego.

I also added my part to the change. I started to practice:

- Letting go of my negative emotions and thoughts.
- Suppressing my ego-centered manifestations.
- Reducing my ego desires and needs.
- Letting go of my false identifications and beliefs.

I want to release the unnecessary things within me that the ego has invented to feel SPECIAL.

I know that if I let Him, God works on me. I know that:

- I don’t have to figure out what I should be.
- I don’t have to want anything.
- I don’t have to believe in anything.
- I don’t have to know anything.
- I don’t have to do anything.
- I don’t have to acquire anything.
- I don’t have to be anything.

Knowing this, I can be FREE to do what I need to do. I will be able to do anything to be useful to Him and my fellow human beings. He will give me the strength...

Guide for the Step Section:

Write down (reflect on) whether:

- Do you often think about how you should be?
- Do you often want certain things strongly?
- Do you often have debates with others?
- Do you think you should know certain things?
- Do you think you absolutely must do certain things?
- Do you think you must acquire certain things?
- Do you think you must possess certain things?

Practice the following (or something similar):

I know that if I let Him, God works on me. I know that:

- I don’t have to figure out what I should be.
- I don’t have to want anything.
- I don’t have to believe in anything.
- I don’t have to know anything.
- I don’t have to do anything.
- I don’t have to acquire anything.
- I don’t have to possess anything.
- I don’t have to be anything.

7.8. Review Questions – for Step 7

Before moving on to Step 8, take a moment for some self-reflection. Answer the following questions for yourself:

1. Do you still have any cherished character flaws?
2. Have you managed to let go of your negative emotions and thoughts?
3. Have you managed to suppress your ego-centered manifestations?
4. Have you managed to reduce your ego desires and needs?
5. Have you managed to let go of your false identifications and beliefs?
6. Have you recognized that you are (perfect) as God created you?
7. Have you realized that you don’t have to be anything?

Short Explanations for the Review Questions of Step 7

1. They are not worth as much as the ego tries to make them seem.
2. Keep practicing!
3. Keep practicing!
4. Keep practicing!
5. Keep practicing!
6. God created us perfectly suited to be useful to Him and our fellow human beings.
7. We don’t have to figure out how to be. The Creator Love created us to be loving.