I was able to quit and I believe you can too

Just wanted to stop by and briefly share my story in the hopes that it may resonate with someone who has a problem and encourage them to quit drinking.

I'll start by saying I'm not an expert on addiction. I've never been to treatment, haven't read much of the literature on alcoholism and the various methods for detoxing and going sober. All I have is my own personal experience with the matter but I was able to be successful and I believe you can as well. The power to quit resides within each and every one of us.

Short background about me: Most of my immediate and extended family has problems with alcohol and drug addiction. I've never been a daily drinker but for the past 16 years I have been getting completely shitfaced on the regular. I've blacked out more times than I can count, put myself in dangerous situations, been in fights, been arrested, gone to jail, driven drunk hundreds of times, said hurtful things to people I care about, alienated friends and family, embarrassed myself time and time again and spent thousands of dollars that I couldn't afford to spend all while under the influence of alcohol. People that I care about have died from their addictions including my mother and a close personal friend of mine.

About two years ago I turned 30 and got it into my head that I wanted to be a successful person. I made up my mind that I was going to be a success at all costs. At the time I was in bad shape financially, bad credit, low income, no prospects, I worked a dead-end job in a cubicle making roughly 40k a year. I didn't know where my success was going to come from, I had ZERO prospects, all I had was my brain, my body, and my spirit but I resolved that those three things were enough if I utilized them in a CERTAIN WAY. I began to devour books about success, I read everything I could get my hands on that addressed the subject of success. I listened to music and watched movies that motivated me, I sought out and started paying attention to extremely successful people and would study the way they spoke and they way they dealt with others and then I would emulate them, I would try to think like them. It wasn't just people with financial success that I would study but people with SUCCESSFUL LIVES, people who were happy and fulfilled, a lot of those people just so happened to be financially wealthy as well. I was cultivating myself into an ADVANCING MAN. All the while I was doing this I was still drinking regularly but I was beginning to make major strides in other areas of my life.

During this period I would study my progress and analyze what was working and what wasn't, I would try to think of things I could do better. I still do this to this day and will continue for the rest of my life. For the 16 years I drank I was always in denial about being an alcoholic, I always told myself that I was just a bit of a party animal but didn't really have a problem. One night while I was analyzing my progress I made the decision to quit drinking, I thought the effects would be minor and that I might see a small return but I knew from my studies that all of the little things can add up and a small thing like quitting partying would be one of the little things. It ended up being a HUGE thing. After the first two months I started to notice huge increases in my ADVANCMENT, I learned by quitting that I was an alcoholic and that alcohol had been impairing my progress my entire adult life. It felt amazing. I used the time and money I had been wasting on alcohol to do things that were productive. I started my own business and began to realize great success and people began to take notice that I was a new man. Friends and family started respecting me again, they started asking for my advice on serious matters, they looked up to me.

I've had many strong cravings since I quit drinking but anytime I feel like drinking I remind myself that I am an ADVANCING MAN and that if I use my mind, body, and spirit in a CERTAIN WAY I will have the power to avoid alcohol for the rest of my life. Now when I go to bars I drink water or tea. I'm able to go to parties and be around people that are drinking (although I strongly dislike being around people that are intoxicated now). I'm able to maintain sobriety because I made the decision that I would stay sober and I'm focused on ADVANCEMENT. I'm still not a perfect person, I still say asshole things and act immature sometimes, I post idiotic shit on the internet, I still have a long way to go in my journey but now I can say that I am a person who no longer drinks alcohol and who is continuing to improve in those other areas each waking minute of every day.

I know that AA likes to tell people that they are powerless and I've seen that their program works for some people but I'm here to tell you that if you truly BELIEVE that you have the power and you BELIEVE WITHOUT QUESTION that you are in control that you can quit alcohol and make your life into anything that you want it to be. Maintain a clear and unwavering picture of the man/woman that you want to be and focus your will on keeping that picture in your mind and you will achieve success in this endeavor.

Sorry for writing a novel, I don't expect that everyone will read it but if it helps just one person then I feel it was worth typing. I know that these are not new ideas but my experience is a reiteration of these concepts. Anyone who is interested, has questions about my experience, or needs some support is welcome to PM me or post in the comments.

EDIT: I just realized that this post is probably better suited for r/stopdrinking. Mods, feel free to delete if this is the wrong place for this type of post