1095Days sober
MilestoneYear 3

Three years.

Three years is the point where most people stop counting closely. The number still goes up on the counter. Your relationship to the number changes.

  • The counter stops being the point

    For the first year, the count is the data. For the second year, the count is the anchor. By the third year, the count is just a number. Some people stop checking it altogether. Some people keep checking it on the anniversary only. Both are fine. The thing the count was protecting has become the default version of your life, and the count itself is no longer doing work it used to do.

  • What you have actually built

    Three years of consistent choice is enough time for the brain to substantially rewire its baseline expectations. Cravings are usually rare and small. The version of you that existed before the choice has receded into something closer to a story you tell than a self you remember.

A note

Three years is also when some people stumble. Complacency is the thing to watch for at this length of time, not cravings. The work changes shape.

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