“Day by day, minute by minute.”

You are part way through the battle!

This is the beginning of the second week of not drinking, which means you made it through a weekend. One week down and accomplished. One of the worst things people do when they stop drinking is get over-confident. Rather than getting into that kind of thinking, it’s easier to take your decision day by day. Soon you’ll see that you can begin to take it week by week and even longer if you choose.

If for some reason you were locked up for a month and couldn’t drink, you know that while you might have some trouble, you would survive the experience. Maybe you could go a year without drinking if someone offered you a million dollars to stop! These situations are make-believe, but they show that a large part of changing a behavior is the attitude you have about it. Having the right attitude, a positive one that is willing to look at the short-term and long-term benefits of changing, will be a great way to success.

It is also a good idea to have in mind some kind of plan for how you’re going to avoid giving in to that one urge or event. One of the best ways to avoid giving in to an urge is to put off drinking altogether.

• Promise yourself not to give in to an urge to today.
• Keep busy!
• If you do slip, stop! Do not finish the drink. Sometimes we have to go back and take it one minute at a time.