Sometimes the very idea of not drinking alcohol almost seems like an impossible task, and one that will require more strength than we seem to have. However, if we approach it as if we were a baby trying to crawl before walking, we can steadily move in the direction of sobriety by taking very small steps that don't require a great deal of effort.
The idea behind this is that we constantly build momentum towards our goal of sobriety when we take smaller, easier-to-achieve steps first. Thus, to start getting control of our drinking habit, we only need to take one small step at a time in that direction.
The Baby Step Method to Get Sober
1. List All the Things You Can Do To Cut Back on Drinking
- This means everything, no matter how big or how little, no matter how easy or hard. You can probably come up with
a 100 of these, but for right now make sure that you have at least 20 to start off with. Here are a few examples:
Stop going to local bar; Stop keeping alcohol at home; Go to bed earlier; Start exercising; Give wallet to spouse
so you don't have access to money; Don't have alcohol with dinner; Don't run up a bar tab; Stop meeting friends
after work for happy hour; Start drinking water when tempted to drink alcohol; Never skip a meal; Do not drink until after dinner; Go two days without drinking; Limit yourself to two drinks per day; Do not drink before 5pm; Do not drink if working the next day; Do not drink on Sundays; Do not drink in front of children; Do not drink on consecutive days; Do not drink shots or hard liquor; Take a week off from drinking.
2. Rank Them from Easiest to Hardest
- Put the very easiest one at the top, the very hardest at the bottom. If you are unsure, don't worry about the exact
order of some of them - just make sure you have the very easiest one at the top of the list.
3. Tackle the Easiest One First - Focus all your strength and will power on the easiest one to accomplish. Don't worry about the other stuff for right now, as you just want to take care of the easiest one on the list. If your easiest one was (for example) not drinking before 5pm, then you need to do everything in your power to make sure you do NOT drink before 5pm.
4. Make SURE the Easiest One is Accomplished, then Tackle the NEXT Easiest One
- After you have accomplished the easy one, look at your list again and make sure that the NEXT easiest one is at
the top. You then want to focus all your strength and will power towards accomplishing that.
Why Baby Steps Can Help You Stop Drinking
We all know the saying "a journey of a 1000 miles begins with one step," and that is especially true when one needs to overcome an addiction. It might seem like a monumental effort to quit drinking, but when you take small, baby steps in the direction of sobriety, you are building up your inner strength and resolve.
By doing those little, easy-to-do things to cut back on your alcohol consumption, you are increasing your confidence in yourself and your ability to take that next step.
The bottom line is that if you KEEP taking these baby steps towards sobriety, before you know it you will have traveled a 1000 miles, and you'll find yourself in a better, happier place - and you'll be a much healthier person.