Originally Posted by
jgreen 
... Told myself that New Year's Resolutions are bs and that you should always do it right away. And that they're an excuse to keep drinking for just a few days more.
Today I've used that excuse! In my sober state I feel like I'll just give it until Jan. 1st.
I find the concept of timing to be a weird catch-22.
On one hand, having a sober date or some other kind of chronological starting point (for anything, not just sobriety) provides a milestone and something measurable that says, "I have done (x) for (x) days/months/years and I am proud of that." This type of recognition can be positive and inspiring.
On the other hand, time is relative because we're all different in our recoveries. Some people count days; others do not. Some of us gain momentum by knowing that we're at 30, 60, 90, 180 days, a year, and so on; others disregard the numbers and live blissfully in a state of simply not drinking. What's important regardless of the number of the days is that we are fighting for ourselves.
Personally, I enjoy seeing my sobriety date because it's a good reminder, but I don't live by it religiously. Once I got to about 70 days or so I stopped thinking about it all the time. So, I suppose I fall somewhere in the middle.
Both approaches are completely valid as long as they work, but I've found that a great way to set yourself up for constant relapse and frustration is to say, "I won't quit today but I will quit on (x) date." That excuse just gave me an opportunity to put off until tomorrow what I should have been doing today. I languished for years by doing that. I finally got to a point where I decided that although September 30 is not a momentous occasion, it was the only "now" I had, and that was the time and place to start. I wasn't going to wait for a first-of-the-month, or a holiday and give up hours, days, or weeks that could have been put to good use.
So why not just quit now? New Year's Day would make for a great story, but why waste four days of a head start toward a better life?
New Year's Resolutions fail for many people because a lofty commitment to *wanting* to do something does not equal the grind that it takes to get there. Hell, you can start on that any time of year!