I know the thought of never drinking again can be daunting. The anxiety of what will be missed. It is hard to think in absolute terms.
Try stringing together short term goals. Go for 30 days. After 30 days, go for 3 months. 6 months, 9 months, a year.
Gradually the mind and body will adapt, the mental process will change. Things that seemed daunting change. Forever becomes less of a scary word.
One day at a time also worked great for me, so far Iāve strung together 345 that way! 
Donāt drink this second, this minute, this hour, this day. On this day I wonāt drink. 
It helps knowing some friends that have quit for a long time. My one buddy is going on 13 years, he drank about a half gallon a day. One is 8, another 4. They post their days on Facebook or whatever, at their anniversaries, truly inspirational. Really helps too.
I remember at first i couldnt accept forever or never again. I did wanna fully detox before ever using again. So i did it finally and by the time i felt good 4 months in i had no desire to use anymore. I finally woke up daily feeling normal and not like i had the flu every single day like clock workā¦ Just give it a chance and you may not find it appealing as beforeā¦
I remember reading:
If a normal person is sick and has the flu, they go to Primecare or whatever and get looked at, get medicine.
If you drink, you wake up with cold/flu symptoms or when you try to quit for a day or days, week. A hangover can be closely related to a stomach virus or flu. How is that normal and considered normal by drinkers?
Shows the power of alcohol and the symptoms of alcoholism.
My only goal is to not drink today. I will worry about tomorrow when I wake up
Every time I thought of āforeverā in the past I gave in. This time it is āon day at a timeā. Itās hard. I still have the thoughts of āMan, can I never have a drink again, ever?ā but now I recognize that thought and tell it straight out āHey, lets just get through today and stop worrying about the futureā. It brings great relief to not stress about the future.
Hard, scary, for some. Liberating for others. For me, the question has been settled. Turn my face in the direction I want to go, and start walking. No need to look back. I know whatās behind me, which is why I choose to leave that place.
When Hernan Cortez arrived in the New World, he ordered the ships that brought he and his men from Spain, burned. He knew that as long as the ships were there, his men would never fully commit to the expedition. Once burned, his small army marched forward, defeated and conquered an empire.
Your DOC is that ship. Your addiction your adversary. A life worth living, your empire to conquer.
Burn your ship.
I LOVE this!! Thank you.
Right Yoda-Stevie is. As Obi-Wan said, only in absolutes do the Sith deal.
One day at a time. Days soon add up. Then youāll be at something random like day 228 and not even think about, want or need a drink 
Iāve been following this philosophy for a few weeks now. I had a really off the wall dream where i became best friends with thanos after he killed my ex and a bunch of other really weird stuff but towards the end he said, āwe do not write of the darkness.ā It was a very vivid dream and it really stuck with me. And since then iāve just put all the darkness in my lige behind me including counting my days sober and Iām so much happier and so much more sober.
It is nice when you are at the point where you donāt check your days, everyday. Not saying anything is wrong with it, some do, some donāt. Nice to go for lengths of time, preoccupied with life.
When I was a few months sober, one week at my AA home group two people got medallions, both for two years. And I thought to myself, āYes, itās possible for me to go two years.ā I had āburned my shipā on the day I got sober (thanks @Yoda-Stevie), but that night gave me peace of mind, let me know I could be comfortable on the march forward.
Keep it simple.
24 hours.
If thatās too long break it into hours or minutes.
I would never look at more than 24 hours. Especially in early recovery.
Meā¦ 22 hours and 33mins sober 
One day at a time!
I definitely think one day at a time, especially in the beginning. My point is that it is good to have goals. It really helps to have milestones. In my Sober Time App it was nice to accomplish a time line goal.
I definitely burned my ship on day one, said never again and this is forever. But, I did it one second, minute, hour, day at a time. I kept the āforeverā in the back of my mind, but my goal everyday was just to make it for whatever time frame I had to put it in. I hit 20 months yesterday. Still keep those month goals in mind. Although I have been hitting milestones without really realizing it.
Keeping goals is very important for me. Once I hit 2 years Iām not sure it will still be as important as it still is, but I will always keep my options open to whatever feels right.
āForeverā is a scary word, but, for me, itās less scary than ādead.ā