How not to lose Motivation to Quit Drinking

If you have decided to take such a big step like quitting drinking, one of the main things which will help you achieve your goal - long awaited freedom of the drug ethanol in this case - is motivation.

There is a lot of people who want to change something in their lives every day. But, let's be honest, most of the time they fail. One of the main reasons for this is that they actually have no motivation to change something.

Of course, if you have decided to quit drinking, that's a major positive step in a better future for you, your health, your family, friends, money etc. But if you have tried this before and failed, you possibly have lost your motivation in the process. For example, most of the people who want to stop using alcohol, come to this conclusion next morning after another heavy drinking. They wake up with a severe hangover, find out that a lot of money has been spent last night, and probably hear some horrific stories from their friends about what they did in the bar. Of course, all these things make serious motivation for quitting.

Though, as time passes, the motivation becomes a lot weaker, and eventually it goes away completely. It's because the hangover ends, a new week starts, money start to come to your pocket again, your friends and relatives forgive you etc. So, your subconscious again start to consider the idea to get some drink next friday at the bar, because apparently there are really no obstacles for doing that - you are feeling good again and all problems and unpleasent situations caused by your previous drinking have been leveled off. At this moment, if you have no extra motivation, you'll will start drinking again.

Therefore you need to find this extra motivation for yourself. From my experience, one of the best things you can do is reward yourself with something you have not had for a long time and which gives you positive emotions. You need to think about this before your craving for a drink gets uncontrollable, otherwise it will be too late. For example, if you have been a moderate or heavy drinker for some time and want to drop this destructive behaviour pattern, you can try to find something you have not done since childhood. Or, try to sell something, make some extra money just after your last drink and buy a car, even a cheap one - this worked for me! Just try to get some new, positive experience, and use it as your motivation when you fight with alcoholism.