Great question.
good exercise to put it down on paper
The main thing that got me sober was deciding to.
I had been hiding from this decision for a long time. It seemed like something I couldn't do. In the back of my mind I knew that this drinking thing wasn't working for me. I was scared of waking up a few years from now an old lady alcoholic. I was ashamed of myself.
What got me on the road to making that decision was coming here and reading about everyones experiences, sharing our problem and how everyone deals with it. The last time I drunk I blacked out, woke up the next morning, can't describe it but I had a strong clear decision, I am not drinking again.
How do I stay sober. So far its been because I decide to & also because I feel so good not drinking. I appreciate waking up feeling ok, how novel! I didn't realize how much the drink probably contributed toward a mild depression, that is lifting. I feel 20 lbs lighter having made this decision, why did I battle it for so long? Probably because it is a disease that we can't help, that is another thing that helps me, knowing that it is an illness for some of us. I'm in the 12% of monkeys that are steady drinkers category LOL
Another thing to add is that I am mid 40's. I am young at heart and was more often than not IDed when buying booze. I think all of my life experiences have lead up to this point. I read the posts by younger folks here and deeply admire their insight and maturity. Its great we are a lot more open about these issues now days and we have the internet and places like this to help us. I felt so alone back then and came from the sort of upbringing where you didn't tackle any issues, you just held it all in. Feels good to share