As our patterns emerge, our discomfort will increase. These patterns carry within them hints of our defects of character and shortcomings. Defects of character are part of humanity - even God’s heroes and heroines of faith had their own sets of shortcomings. A shortcoming is a character trait that continues to cause harm to self and/or others. Character defects are not behaviors like over-eating, under-eating, drinking and drugging or workaholism. Our ‘bad behaving’ is a symptom of these traits, not the trait itself.
Here is a long list of possible shortcomings. In the days ahead refer back to this list if you need help figuring out your own habitual shortcomings.
Anger
Self-justification
Self-centeredness
Rationalization
Procrastination
Suspiciousness
Worrisomeness
Indifference
Approval-seeking
Arrogance
Impulsivity
Panic
Complacency
Withholding
Perfectionism
Smugness
Selfishness
Fear
Sloth
Depression
Tenseness
Over-sensitivity
Impatience
Phoniness
Aimlessness
Despondency
Complaining
Aggression
Judgmentalism
Stubbornness
Intolerance
Anxiety
Greed
Unkindness
Irresponsibility
Pessimism D
iscourteousness
Over-compliance
Violence
Melancholy
Whining
Neediness
Resentment
Hate
Unrealistic
Gossip
Laziness
Dishonesty
Insecurity
Envy
Ingratitude
Rumination
Manipulation
Evasiveness
Disagreeable
Self-pity
Lust
Domineering
Unreasonableness
Rigidity
Lying
Pridefulness
Jealousy
Self-righteousness
Living in the future
Control
Indiscretion
Self-indulgence
Whew! That’s a long list! You may want to transfer it into your journal for future use. If you aren’t working through a fourth step but are a kind and decent person who is patiently reading through the blog anyway, bless you. You may want to take a peek and see if any of these traits ring any bells for you too!
