newby1961

Never Again!

"Most people feel more secure on the twenty-four-hour basis than they do in the resolution that they will never drink again. Most of them have broken too many resolutions. It's really a matter of personal choice; every A.A. has the privilege of interpreting the program as he likes.
"Personally, 1 take the attitude that I intend never to drink again. This is somewhat different from saying, 'I will never drink again.' The latter attitude sometimes gets people in trouble because it is undertaking on a personal basis to do what we alcoholics never could do. It is too much an act of will and leaves too little room for the idea that God will release us from the drink obsession provided we follow the A.A. program."

LETTER, 1949

Fernaceman

I can certainly agree and relate to this. I made many declarations in the past that I was through with drinking and drugs forever. I feel this almost condemned me from the very start. Almost like things automatically started to go downhill and cursed from the beginning if I started things out with that statement. It's like with cigarettes, once I say and announce "I AM DONE" it makes it all the more difficult. And all this declaration crap puts a hell of a lot of pressure on myself. My mind likes to obsess about things I put pressure on myself about. No good generally comes from this.

bbthumper

I have no issue with saying that I will never drink again, but I always keep in mind the caveat that goes along with that. I will never drink again provided I continue to grow spiritually.

Gal220

When I first started going to AA, I was told that I only needed to get through today without drinking. If I felt like I needed to drink, I could always do that "tomorrow". Of course the idea here was that "tomorrow" never actually comes because it's relative. This did not work for me at all. I couldn't trick myself into not drinking.

So I guess the way I think about it is that drinking will NEVER be a good decision for me. I can't keep it as an option in the back of my mind. It's not so much a resolution as it is a solid fact that I can hold onto in those moments when I really want to escape myself, when I just want to drink "this one time". I can't say I won't ever drink, because I don't know that for sure. All I know is that for me, to drink is to die.

paul99

I have not sworn off, but the obsession has lifted. I don't see this as "one day at a time". It might have felt like that a few times early on though , for sure, but as long as I continue to do the things I need to do to remain spiritually fit, then I don't have to worry about timelines. Where I stand today, right this second, my intention is to never drink again. But what about next week? A month from now? What about those with 10-15 years sobriety before going back out? Will I be one of those? To myself I ask - why am I thinking about that now? I am here now. And it is through God and AA that I am able to do this.

IndaMiricale

I grabbed ahold of that "Maybe I can tomorrow logic" that Gal220 wrote on..

It worked for me, I just had to make it thru today..

I still just live for day and not to drink today. Just like our camel the mascot of AA.