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Step 4 Worksheet — Fearless Moral Inventory

The classic AA 4-column inventory: resentments, fears, and harms

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Step 4 is a written inventory — not a confession, not a verdict. The 12-step format columns out resentments by person, the cause, the area of life it affects, and your own part. Doing it on paper takes the charge out of carrying it in your head.

I'm resentful at
The cause
It affects (self-esteem / security / ambitions / relationships / sex)
My part
Fears — what I am afraid of, and why
Harms I have caused others — to revisit in Step 8

Step 4 is traditionally followed by Step 5 — sharing this inventory with one trusted person (sponsor, clergy, therapist). Writing it is half the work; speaking it is the other half.

References & further reading

Conceptual background and further reading, not validation of this handout. Named instruments and methods belong to their original authors; custom prompts and trackers are not validated versions of those instruments.

  • Alcoholics Anonymous World Services. (2001). Alcoholics Anonymous (4th ed.).
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About this worksheet

Step 4 is the 'searching and fearless moral inventory' — a written, structured look at the resentments, fears, and harms the writer is carrying. This worksheet uses the format taught in the AA Big Book and standard sponsorship: a four-column grid for each resentment (who I'm resentful at, what they did, which area of life it affects — self-esteem, security, ambitions, relationships, sex — and my own part in it), then a fears inventory, and a harms list that carries directly into Step 8. The point of the grid isn't to assign blame. It's to slow the resentment down enough that the writer can see the part that belongs to them, which is the only part they can do anything about. The fourth column ('my part') is what makes Step 4 work; without it, the inventory is just a grievance log. Most sponsors want Step 4 written out by hand, then read aloud in Step 5. Therapists supporting 12-step clients often use this worksheet as an artifact for between-session work — and the format is also a useful psychotherapy tool in its own right, since the structured separation of cause, effect, and personal contribution is more or less an externalized cognitive restructuring.

When to use it

  • Step 4 work with a sponsor in any 12-step fellowship (AA, NA, SLAA, GA, ACA).
  • Intensive outpatient, residential, and dual-diagnosis programs that integrate step work.
  • Clients writing inventory between sessions in clinician-supported 12-step recovery.
  • Avoid as a first move in acute trauma — Step 4 surfaces material; make sure there's a container.

How to use it

  1. 1
    Make the list first

    Brainstorm every person you resent. Don't filter — the obvious ones are usually covering the deeper ones.

  2. 2
    Fill the first three columns

    Person, what they did, which area it affects. Stay factual.

  3. 3
    Find your part

    The hardest column. Pride, self-seeking, dishonesty, fear — what did you bring to the dynamic? Even 0% is rare.

  4. 4
    Repeat for fears

    Each fear gets a line: what I'm afraid of, why, and what self-reliance failed to fix.

  5. 5
    List harms

    Carry these directly into Step 8 — the amends list.

  6. 6
    Schedule Step 5

    Read the inventory aloud to one trusted person within a week of finishing. Don't let it sit.

Frequently asked questions

What is Step 4 in AA?+

'Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.' A written examination of resentments, fears, and harms, traditionally followed by Step 5 — sharing that inventory with one other person. The Big Book lays out the four-column format used in this worksheet.

How long does Step 4 take to write?+

Days to months. The Big Book describes it as work to be done thoroughly, not quickly. Most sponsors expect several weeks of regular writing. Trying to finish in one sitting usually means the inventory is shallow.

What if I don't have many resentments?+

Almost everyone starting Step 4 says this. The format reliably surfaces resentments the writer didn't know they were carrying — toward parents, employers, institutions, themselves, and God or whatever they understand as a higher power. Start the list anyway.

Is the 'my part' column blaming the victim?+

No. The fourth column is not about deserving what happened; it's about identifying the part — if any — that the writer can change going forward. For genuine trauma, the answer is often 'I was a child' or 'there was no part.' Step 4 is compatible with trauma-informed work when sequenced carefully.

Can I do Step 4 in therapy instead of with a sponsor?+

Many clinicians integrate Step 4 work into therapy, especially when the client isn't connected to a sponsor or when the material is trauma-heavy. The worksheet is the same; the holding container — sponsor vs. therapist — depends on the client's recovery path.

Worksheet — Step 4 Worksheet — Fearless Moral Inventory — provided by TherapistAssist for clinical use. Not a substitute for assessment or treatment.