Scarlet, do you think this date you have selected HAS to be the last time? Is it just a way to call up the energy to make it more definitive when you articulate it that way? I imagined as much when I read your line about it not being the end of the world too - almost like you are using reverse psychology on yourself to prevent disappointment.
It might turn out to be a bit of shame to request not to have smiley faces in the replies, because that is likely to make people afraid to talk to you. Some people like them more than others, but in some cases the use of the smiley is a form of punctuation or accompanying body language. I know I have added a smiley before so that I can soften the tone and prevent someone from thinking I am particularly cranky. Unless you were getting at a request to have more depth to the responses written back to you as opposed to general well-wishing and cheerleading.
Choosing a date that holds special significance might have a power inside it for you. My date wasn't pre-selected and was not special to me, but it obviously has a significance to it now. (It was a week after Remembrance Day.) I'd never really given it a try before. I just grabbed on to a passing moment of common sense, and kept going. I don't know where to begin to explain how I do it every day, but you can click on my profile and look at my previous posts on the Stat tab to see if anything there does you any good. As it is, I am only operating on assumptions that I know what I am doing, but I've got to start somewhere, just like you do.