I got a huge boost the very instant I decided I had quit drinking for good because the shame and guilt of being a habitual drinker, an addict, just plain lifted like a sour miserable putrid fog. I was leaving all of that behind me. You might call that The Abstinence Commitment Effect. Truly a blast, a crystal clear buzz I had never experienced before.
The next few weeks were almost painfully acutely felt, in a thousand different ways. Most of them were beyond good, it was as though my life was beginning again. It was a fresh start.
After that period came the realization that I could do sooooo much more, I could achieve so much more, I could be so much more than I had accepted while drinking. All day and every day. Done, finito, phhhhht.
This is why I often end my posts with the suggestion: Onward! It is there for you, too.