Episode 1136: Step Ten PetsEpisode 1136: Step Ten Pets
Take 12 Recovery Radio
STEP TEN PETS. In this episode of the Came to Believe Recovery Podcast, Tom Williams and the Mont...
1:00:41•30 Sept 2026
Step Ten Pets: The Habits You Keep Feeding in Recovery
Episode Overview
- Step Ten is presented as an ongoing daily practice of inventory and prompt amends, not a one-time exercise.
- “Step Ten pets” are those familiar defects and habits people keep holding onto, even while asking God to remove them.
- A distinction is drawn between a slip and a full relapse, with emphasis on honest self-assessment rather than shame.
- Growing conscience and God-consciousness are seen as signs that core defects are being removed, even if old behaviours still surface.
- Freedom in recovery is linked to being honest about what you refuse to surrender, especially in areas like relationships, lust, and dishonesty.
“Stop feeding the stuff that you're asking God to remove.”
What can we learn from those who have battled addiction? This episode of Take 12 Recovery Radio’s *Came to Believe Recovery Podcast* tackles that head-on with a blend of humour, honesty, and solid step work. Host Monty Dale Meyer (the Monty’man) and Came to Believe Recovery CEO Tom Williams chat about “Step Ten Pets” – those stubborn habits and character defects you keep stroking and feeding, even after asking God to remove them.
Think resentment, impatience, gossip, lust, morbid reflection, people-pleasing and those little “white lies” that seem harmless but quietly eat away at your peace. Before they get serious, there’s a light-hearted trivia battle on American history and classic rock, complete with sound effects and plenty of self-deprecating laughs. It sets the tone: this is recovery talk that doesn’t feel heavy, even when the subject matter cuts close to the bone.
Tom explains Step Ten as a daily tool: “We continue to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.” They draw a clear line between a slip and a full relapse, and between a defect being removed and still sometimes making mistakes out of old habit. A key marker of growth? That “funny feeling” of conscience when something’s off, or as Monty connects it, a growing God-consciousness.
They speak openly from a Christian perspective, referencing the founders of AA, the Bible, and the idea that God can change a person’s core nature, while still leaving them human enough to mess up.
One of the strongest challenges comes near the end: “Stop feeding the stuff that you’re asking God to remove.” If you’re in recovery, doing step work, or just stuck on a behaviour you secretly “kind of like,” this episode might get you asking: what are *your* Step Ten pets, and are you really ready to let them go?
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