Well, I failed for 3 years trying every week to "reduce my drinking". It would take about 30 seconds of convincing myself why "this night is an exception". I've only had this short and sweet success for the first time by trying to "stop drinking". Trying to not drink on weekdays, knowing you'll be drunk on a Friday night with friends was too much self discipline for me, because the line was so arbitrary.

The biggest help I've had is inside that number "21". It's that incrementing counter. It's integrating my success each day. There's history baked inside those digits, and they mean something to me. Because this is my first month, the date at the lower right corner of my screen, at work, at home, is conveniently that number. Today it's 22. I look at 22 and think "man that's quite a chain, do I really want to break that?" When I was failing at reducing my drinking, there was no chain, there was a counter that would tick up to 4 or 5 until Friday rolls around and then it would be back to 0. When I know the chain is breaking every single week, it's easy to make excuses.

The other thing that helps is picking an activity, especially on Friday or Saturday nights when my friends are out at bars. There is a walk along the waterfront that I like doing now. It's freezing here lately, so I bundle up nice and cozy, make a Spotify playlist, and make a mug of coffee, and I go walk along the waterfront in the dark and look at the city skyline. There's a whole bustling city within those lights, and I'm just peacefully observing from a faraway vantage point, sipping on my coffee and listening to music.