From Courage to Change of Nov 14:
Step Six talks about becoming entirely ready to have God remove all my defects of character. This readiness rarely appears to me in a sudden, blinding flash of enlightenment. Instead, as I struggle to make progress in a positive direction, I become ready a little at a time.
An important part of my Sixth Step work is practicing gratitude. The more I give thanks for my life as it is, the more I can accept the healing that allows me to change and grow. By recognizing and cultivating my abilities, I am increasingly willing to let go of my defects.
This Step is a lesson in patience, but as I see my life opening up before me in new directions, I do finally become ready to have God remove all my defects of character.
Today’s Reminder
“Progress, not perfection” applies to my readiness to let go of my defects, as well as to other parts of my Al-Anon program. One day at a time, I make progress in readiness.
“Step Six is my chance to cooperate with God. My goal is to make myself ready to let go of my faults and let God take care of the rest.”
~ Alateen—a day at a time
END OF QUOTE—————————————
I don’t treat Step Six as a lightning strike or a spiritual credential earned through intensity. Instead, readiness is something accrued—earned slowly through lived effort, missteps, and the humility of repetition. This is spiritual honesty at work. I am not going to wait to feel holy enough to change; I commit to changing until readiness quietly catches up.
Gratitude is not a polite accessory to recovery. It is an active solvent. By giving thanks for life as it actually is—not as I wish it were—I create the internal conditions where change can occur without violence. Gratitude softens the grip of self-attack. It allows defects to loosen naturally, not because they are condemned, but because they are no longer needed for survival.
There is an important reversal here: I do not become grateful after defects are removed; gratitude itself becomes the mechanism of readiness. As I recognize and cultivate my abilities, defects lose their authority. They are revealed not as moral failures, but as outdated strategies—once useful, now burdensome.
Patience emerges as the quiet discipline of this Step. Not passive waiting, but a willingness to remain in process without demanding immediate transformation. I notice my life opening “in new directions,” which suggests that readiness is not merely subtraction (removal of defects), but expansion—more room to move, choose, and respond.
When I invoke “progress, not perfection,” it does not land as slogan or self-soothing. It reads as a lived measurement tool. Readiness itself becomes something you practice one day at a time. Some days I am more willing, some days less—but the commitment is to return, not to arrive.
What this reflection ultimately reveals is a mature relationship with God: not a God who fixes me once I qualify, but a Higher Power who works with my consent, at my pace, through gratitude, patience, and incremental courage.
This is Step Six as craftsmanship—quiet, honest, and enduring.
Daily Reprieve 
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