Deciding to Quit Using Alcohol or Drugs

Succeeding in Life

If you want to succeed in life, it is important to set goals (short-term, medium term, and long-term) and plan how to accomplish each step. Good goals follow the S.M.A.R.T. approach.

SMART ~ Goals

They are:

Specific (you clearly know

   what you want),

Measurable (you can

    measure your progress),

Achievable (possible), 

Realistic (something that

   is not too hard or too

   easy), and

Timely (you set time in

  days or weeks, where you

  will have your goal

  accomplished).

Mountain Climbing

Most goals are accomplished step-by-step, or one step at a time. Think of pursuing a goal as being like climbing a mountain.

You begin on flat ground, go up a hill a bit, reach a plateau, go up a bit higher, plateau again, until you reach the top peak and achieve your goal.

Starting & Stopping

Goals can be both “additive” like deciding to exercise for a half-hour each day, and “subtractive” like keeping track of the number of cigarettes you smoke on a daily basis and then cutting-back on one cigarette each day—gradually cutting back more until you can stop altogether.

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