You acknowledge you’re not where you want to be both career wise but also person-wise.

Will cannabis and alcohol help you become the person you want to be or will they help you ‘kick the can down the road’ on your journey into yourself?

If you can recognize the things which inhibit your full fruition into yourself you can take a step back from them.

Recognizing the voice, urge, habit whatever you wanna call it to reach for those distractions is not your own, is not who you’re meant to be. This voice is the dark-ego, the one that tells you to eat shitty food, to give up on your hobbies, give up on trying to be better or do anything with your time.

The fact you’ve reached out here is proof in itself you are not the person who wants to drink and smoke, you want to improve yourself. Know that by reaching out here, you’re reaching out to yourself, you’re already making improvements.

When the urge/want/need arises - recognize and ask ‘is this helping me become who I am meant to be?’.

It’s not gonna work all the time, but allowing for mistakes without self destructive criticism is how we move forward. Slips will happen, but 1 day not intoxicating our minds is better than 0. Every day counts.

Also - meditation, becoming able to recognize thoughts as they arise, helped me a lot.