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Quick Sobriety Tip #2: One Day at a Time
A timeless piece of advice for resisting cravings.
I’d guess that the most popular sobriety advice of all time is to take recovery “one day at a time.” Perhaps it is repeated so often that it has become a cliche, but despite that, I’d urge anyone who has quit drinking to take the suggestion seriously.
Early on in my sobriety, my thoughts often wandered to what it would feel like to stay sober for years. Although this type of daydreaming could be inspirational, it was more often overwhelming.
I couldn’t imagine myself sticking with sobriety for so long, which made me want to give up right away. Why suffer through days of difficult withdrawal symptoms when I knew that I’d fail in the end and it would all be for nothing?
To reign in these thoughts, I shifted my focus to getting through the day. I stopped asking myself whether I could last for a year, a month, or even a week. Instead, I told myself that no matter what, I’d at least get through the current day without a drink.
This post is part of a series of quick sobriety tips that I’ll be publishing throughout January. The goal is to help people who have quit drinking by providing easy, actionable advice. You can learn more about addiction recovery in my recently released collection of 50 sobriety essays.
