Reflect on 2025 with your Step 10 recovery tools. Celebrate your growth, recognize lessons learned, and set intentional goals for an abstinent 2026.

As 2025 comes to a close, its the perfect time to take a pause and look back on the past year. For those of us in food addiction recovery, Step 10 of 12-step recovery offers a gentle yet powerful way to reflect, take inventory, and set ourselves up for growth in the year ahead.

Step 10 invites us to ask some deep questions:

• Was I resentful?
• Was I selfish?
• Was I dishonest?
• Was I jealous?
• Was I fearful?
• Was I restless, irritable, or discontented?
• Did I show kindness of those around me?
• Are there apologies I need to make?
• What did I do for others?
• What could I have done better?
• What did I do well?
• What lessons did I learn over the past year?
• What am I grateful for?

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Taking an honest look at our year can feel daunting. It’s important to understand, this exercise is not about shame. Its about awareness.

When you reflect on moments of resentment or jealousy, of restlessness or fear, you’re not judging yourself, you’re simply noticing patterns. Some of the patterns you notice or recognize may no longer serve you. Naming them allows you to release them and move forward with clarity.

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At the same time, Step 10 reminds us to celebrate our wins, no matter how small. Were there times you were kind or patient with yourself or others? Did you support someone in their recovery journey, even in a quiet or simple way?

Recognizing these moments is just as important as noticing where we struggled.

Recovery isn’t only about removing/ceasing harmful behaviors, its about cultivating love, compassion, and conscious effort in our daily lives.

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This is also a time to consider relationships and accountability.

Are there apologies you need to make or conversations you have been avoiding? Step 10 encourages us to restore connection wherever we can, not as an obligation, but as a gift to ourselves and others.

Letting go of lingering guilt or resentment helps create a clean slate for the new year.

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Looking back on the totality of the past year, take a moment to reflect on the lessons the year offered. What did you learn about yourself? How did your recovery grow through challenges or successes? Are there patterns you want to release or continue working on in 2026?

Looking at these lessons clearly gives us wisdom to guide our next steps.

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Gratitude is the heart of this reflection exercise.

Even when the year brought difficulties, there are always things to appreciate: the progress you made in recovery, the support of your community or sponsor, or even small daily moments of peace and self-care.

Focusing on these can shift your mindset from what went wrong to what nourished your spirit.

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Finally, Step 10 is also about looking forward. With a clear understanding of 2025, you can set intentional goals for 2026:

• What habits do you want to strengthen?
• What triggers do you want to manage differently?
• How can you expand your service to others or deepen your own recovery?

Taking a few quiet moments to imagine your next year with clarity and purpose sets the tone for mindful, empowered living.

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Step 10 is a gift. It gives us the roadmap to take a pause, reflect, and move forward with honesty, gratitude, and intention. As we close 2025, remember that recovery is a journey, not a destination. Each reflection, each inventory, each mindful step keeps us grounded in our commitment to abstinence, self-love, and service.

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Here’s to a 2026 filled with abstinence, emotional balance, and unwavering recovery.

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Food For Thought

Did I feel out of control around food this year? What emotions were underneath it?

When did I feel proud of my recovery this year? What specific actions or choices contributed to that?

How did I show kindness and love toward myself when urges, cravings, or any setbacks arose?

What can I release now to start 2026 with a clean slate emotionally and spiritually?

What patterns around food or emotions kept repeating this year, and what did they teach me?

Which strategies or tools in recovery worked best for me in 2025?

What am I grateful for in my recovery journey this year?

What habits or routines do I want to strengthen to support my recovery in 2026?

What specific actions can I take to serve others while staying committed to my abstinence?

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