5th Step – Clarity pg 59

Because we were still bothered by fear , self-pity, and hurt feelings , it was probable that we couldn’t appraise ourselves fairly at all. Too much guilt and remorse might cause us to dramatize and exaggerate our shortcomings. Or anger or pride might be the smoke screen under which we were hiding some of our defects while we blamed others for them. Possibly too, we were handicapped by many liabilities , great and small, we never knew we had.