When I quit a 3-pack-a-day cigarette habit more than 30 years ago, when I thought of the long-term without cigarettes, I would freak out. So I made an agreement with myself that if I were terminally ill with only a little time left, I would allow myself to smoke. After about a year or two it dawned on me that I had no interest in going back to smoking under any circumstances. Drinking, for me, seems now to be following a similar pattern :-). I don't do well white-knuckling so I find it helps to be a bit creative.