Spot Check Inventory
This is one of several tools we are making available for free on our website that are mentioned in our book An Ounce of Prevention: A Course in Relapse Prevention. This intervention addresses how one can quickly evaluate the condition of his or her spiritual and emotional well-being. We call this sober tool a spot check inventory and below you will learn more about why we believe it is important to conduct such an inventory on a daily basis.
A spot check inventory can be used any time of the day to assess your level of emotional and spiritual well-being. Ideally you will derive ongoing benefit from the tool if you employ it at the start of your day or the conclusion of your evening.
You are free to use any format you like to take a spot check inventory. Our preference is the framework found in the spiritual benchmarks known as the “12 Promises” which are found in the original recovery text of Alcoholics Anonymous, (1965). The book’s author suggests that the promises are realized after completing one’s 9th Step – “Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others”, however, we have used the promises for years as a tool for taking our spiritual temperature.
If you review the 12 Promises on a daily basis and consider what you might do to enhance its prominence in your life, you will find that you will become aware of strategies that you can employ to initiate desired changes in your life or, at the very minimum, identify focal points for you to explore with members of your support group or therapist.
You can review each of the promises on a daily basis or focus your attention specifically on the promises you are having difficulty with.
Click on this link to download a pdf version of this tool: Sober Tools – Spot Check Inventory
