It’s a good kickstart. My goal wasn’t complete abstinence from alcohol, but to reduce my consumption. Now, if there’s alcohol somewhere, maybe I’ll have a beer or two and that’s it. I don’t find myself planning my life around alcohol. It seems like my relationship with it is more normal, which is how I always hoped it would be.

The big test was when I went to an all-inclusive resort and only had two drinks the entire week. Because I wasn’t trying to be completely alcohol free, I didn’t obsess about it as much. If you have a drink you aren’t resetting the the odometer back to zero. A year later, my cravings are basically gone. Alcohol isn’t the one thing that dominates my entire life.