100 days is just over 3 months.
It can sound like a lot. It’s a quarter of an entire year. It’s three full moons. It’s a decent chunk of time but here’s something crucial to remember: The time will pass whether or not you’re making progrss on your goals.
If your goal is to stop drinking, you could make that change today and wake up in 100 days and be 100 days sober. If you start a month from now, it’ll be 130 days until you reach the 100 days milestone. If you start in two months, it’ll be 160 days away, and so on and so forth.
As such, the best day to start is today.
How To Go 100 Days Sober Without Drinking
Going 100 days sober from alcohol can feel daunting if you’re someone who drinks daily, or even just drinks on the weekends, but it’s totally possible to do and many people before you have hit this milestone, too.
Depending on your habits and situation, it might not be easy. We’ll just be upfront with you about that. You’ll probably find yourself trying to rationalize having a drink in a million different ways, and some people don’t even realize they’re doing this until they’re at the end of day 7, day 20, or even day 90 with a drink in their hand thinking, “wait, how did it get to this point?”
So, how do you go 100 days without drinking? To some people, the answer is just “start today, don’t put anymore alcohol into your body.” But it’s not really that simple, otherwise everyone would have done it by now. In a sense, though, it is that simple – but there’s a lot more to it…
First Things First: 100 Days Without Alcohol
Before you start your 100 days of sobriety, it’s good to take some inventory of where you’re at, what your goals are, how you’re going to get there, which resources you have available to you, and so on.
Start With Your Health
If you’re a heavy drinker, especially if you drink every single day, it’s important to have a quick doctor visit to check over your vitals and to make sure that it’s safe for you to stop drinking abruptly. Sometimes, stopping cold turkey can cause issues for people whose bodies are severely dependent on alcohol. This is just a small obstacle, but don’t let it discourage you: use it as motivation. It demonstrates how important it is to quit, and to do it the safe way.
Make Plans for Your Free Time
When you stop drinking, you’ll need to find a way to fill your free time. You could take up a new hobby, watch some new TV shows, or whatever else you want. Whatever you end up doing to pass your time, even if it isn’t the most productive thing, at least you’ll be not drinking, and at least to start with, that’s a great place to start.
Exercise, studying, learning new skills, starting a side-business, meditating, spending more time with sober friends… there are a thousand different things you can do instead of drinking.
Understand It’s a Process
The day you stop drinking is the start of the journey. To be fair, getting to that day is part of the journey too, but it’s a different thing once you’re not drinking anymore. Knowing what to expect can help set you up for success.
Everyone has a different experience, but there are certain things that are pretty common to feel and go through.
It’s a process. It starts in a day, but recovery and sobriety lasts the rest of your life…
Starting with 100 days.
After the First 100 Days Sober
During the first 100 days, keep track of how you’re feeling on a daily or weekly basis. Keep track of what you’re feeling, how it feels at first, how it feels after a month or two, and so on. When you start to gradually feel better over time, it’s not always as noticeable, so it’s nice to keep track of things so you can compare.
After 100 days, you can decide if you want to return to drinking, or if you’re glad you stopped. It’s a lot easier to commit to 100 days sober than committing to the rest of your life, and it’s a lot easier to decide to give up alcohol permanently when you haven’t had a drink in 100 days, so overall this is a really good strategy to stop drinking.
