Proof that God can and will remove defects of character is provided by the testimony of almost any A.A member. "To him, this proposition will be no theory at all; it will be just about the largest fact in his life." (Page 63) His own willpower and the help of others (human aid) was insufficient to overcome alcoholism, but when he 'became entirely ready' to have God remove the mania for drinking, the obsession to drink was removed.

"Having been granted a perfect release from alcoholism, why then shouldn’t we be able to achieve by the same means a perfect release from every other difficulty or defect?" (Page 64) Part of the answer to this "riddle of our existence" is that when men and women drink so much that they destroy their lives, they commit an unnatural act and defy our instinct for self-preservation and seem bent on self-destruction. "As they are humbled by the terrific beating administered by alcohol, the grace of God can enter them and expel their obsession." (Page 64) This is another example of the so-called "gift of depseration" that figures prominently in the Twelve and Twelve's essay on Step Two.

"But most of our other difficulties don’t fall under such a category at all." (Page 64) We have certain God-given instincts that help us stay alive and function in society. The author uses a number of terms interchangeably to denote these basic motivations for human behavior: instinctual drives, natural desires, natural drives and instinctual desires. As in Step Four here in the Twelve and Twelve, our troubles arise when they are excessive:

	Since most of us are born with an abundance of natural
	desires, it isn’t strange that we often let these far exceed
	their intended purpose. When they drive us blindly, or we
	willfully demand that they supply us with more satisfactions
	or pleasures than are possible or due us, that is the
	point at which we depart from the degree of perfection that
	God wishes for us here on earth. That is the measure of
	our character defects, or, if you wish, of our sins. (Page 65)  

God forgives us, "[b]ut in no case does He render us white as snow and keep us that way without our cooperation. That is something we are supposed to be willing to work toward ourselves. He asks only that we try as best we know how to make progress in the building of character." (Page 65) This statement assumes action on our part, a notion absent in the Big Book version of this Step.

"So Step Six— 'Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character'— is A.A.'s way of stating the best possible attitude one can take in order to make a beginning on this lifetime job." (Page 65) This is the strongest statement yet that this Step is an ongoing process, not a single event. We are told that we cannot expect our character defects to be completely taken away, as the drive to drink was: "A few of them may be, but with most of them we shall have to be content with patient improvement." (Page 65) We are told here in the Twelve and Twelve that "Creation gave us instincts for a purpose" (Page 42) and that it is not evident that "our Creator expects us to fully eliminate our instinctual drives." (Page 65) Since total elimination of these drives is not an option, our remaining goal seems to be limiting their excesses. One is reminded of the phrase "spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection" from How It Works in the Big Book. (Page 60)

The author then expands upon the idea found in the Big Book's Step Six discussion that we may cling to some of the objectionable things in our inventory. Few of us are "entirely ready", or perfectly willing, to have all of our defects removed. "Practically everybody wishes to be rid of his most glaring and destructive handicaps" such as lust, gluttony, pride, greed and the like, when they are excessive and cause us pain. (Page 66) "Not much spiritual effort is involved in avoiding excesses which will bring us punishment anyway. But when we face up to the less violent aspects of these very same defects, then where do we stand? What we must recognize now is that we exult in some of our defects. We really love them." (Page 66) We can rationalize milder versions of lust as love, greed as ambition, gossip as trying to help, gluttony as 'taking our comfort' and sloth as the 'justified' reward for former hard work. "Self-righteous anger also can be very enjoyable. In a perverse way we can actually take satisfaction from the fact that many people annoy us, for it brings a comfortable feeling of superiority." (Page 67)

	
	Some people, of course, may conclude that they are 
	indeed ready to have all such defects taken from them. 
	But even these people, if they construct a list of 
	still milder defects, will be obliged to admit that 
	they prefer to hang on to some of them. Therefore, it 
	seems plain that few of us can quickly or easily
	become ready to aim at spiritual and moral perfection; 
	we want to settle for only as much perfection as will 
	get us by in life, according, of course, to our
	various and sundry ideas of what will get us by. (Page 67-68) 

These different degrees of character defects - the painful and fairly obvious, those 'less violent' and able to be easily rationalized and the 'still milder defects' - do not appear likely to be detected all at once, no matter how fearless and thorough an initial Fourth Step inventory might be. It seems reasonable to say that the more subtle and perhaps the most enjoyable defects will be found only after a "willing and persistent effort" and "lifetime practice" of self-survey. The continued inventory to detect all our defects, suggested earlier in Step Four, is consistent with the need stated more than once in this chapter for repeated effort on Step Six. Indeed, the personal inventory and the development of willingness to have our defects removed are both said to be lifetime practices. Both may be said to progress from a focus on the 'grosser handicaps' to the more refined and elusive imperfections of character.

"Many will at once ask, "How can we accept the entire implication of Step Six? Why--that is perfection!" (Page 68) Only Step One, the admission of powerlessness, can be practiced with perfection. "The remaining eleven Steps state perfect ideals. They are goals toward which we look, and the measuring sticks by which we estimate our progress. The only urgent thing is that we make a beginning, and keep trying." (Page 68) One is reminded of this passage from How It Works: "'What an order! I can't go through with it!' Do not be discouraged. No one among us has maintained anything like perfect adherence to these principles. We are not saints. The point is, that we are willing to grow along spiritual lines. The principles we have set down are guides to progress." (Big Book, Page 60) Both passages propose ambitious spiritual goals, yet at the same time provide reassurance to one who aspires to them.

The author continues in this vein: "We shall need to raise our eyes toward perfection, and be ready to walk in that direction. It will seldom matter how haltingly we walk. The only question will be 'Are we ready?'" (Page 68) We may have to frankly acknowledge that we are not ready to give up certain things, "but we should not say to ourselves, 'This I will never give up!" (Page 69) This is dangerous, for "[t]he moment we say, 'No, never!' our minds close against the grace of God." (Page 69)

The chapter concludes by saying we should not rationalize delay in working on our character defects. "At the very least, we shall have to come to grips with some of our worst character defects and take action toward their removal as quickly as we can... Delay is and rebellion may be fatal. This is the exact point at which we abandon limited objectives, and move toward God's will for us." (Page 69)

This optimistic sentiment which ends the chapter is fitting, for this Step contains an element not seen in the previous ones. The Big Book contains certain promises of spiritual benefits after Steps Three, Four and Five. The Twelve and Twelve similarly notes the progress made in its summaries of each Step. However, Step Six is the first to have improvement as its very essence and purpose rather than as a result. There are numerous references throughout the discussion of the Step to character building, growth, progress, improvement and the like - not merely at the end. Earlier Steps discuss our problems such as alcohol, failure, insanity, and the naming and discussion of our character defects. In this Step we see the alcohol obsession spoken of in the past tense and we envision and strive for the removal of our defects. Step Six is the first to be forward-looking, with a positive goal in mind, rather than stating a problem or attempting to clean up the past.