The Daily Check-In for Saturday, September 17th: Just for today, I am NOT drinking!

We may be anonymous strangers on the internet, but we have one thing in common. We may be a world apart, but we're here together!

Welcome to the 24 hour pledge!

I'm pledging myself to not drinking today, and invite you to do the same.

Maybe you're new to /r/stopdrinking and have a hard time deciding what to do next. Maybe you're like me and feel you need a daily commitment or maybe you've been sober for a long time and want to inspire others.

It doesn't matter if you're still hung over from a three day bender or been sober for years, if you just woke up or have already completed a sober day. For the next 24 hours, lets not drink alcohol!

This pledge is a statement of intent. Today we don't set out trying not to drink, we make a conscious decision not to drink. It sounds simple, but all of us know it can be hard and sometimes impossible. The group can support and inspire us, yet only one person can decide if we drink today. Give that person the right mindset!

What happens if we can't keep to our pledge? We give up or try again. And since we're here in /r/stopdrinking, we're not ready to give up.

What this is: A simple thread where we commit to not drinking alcohol for the next 24 hours, posting to show others that they're not alone and making a pledge to ourselves. Anybody can join and participate at any time, you do not have to be a regular at /r/stopdrinking or have followed the pledges from the beginning.

What this isn't: A good place for a detailed introduction of yourself, directly seek advice or share lengthy stories. You'll get a more personal response in your own thread.

This post goes up at:

- US - Night/Early Morning

- Europe - Morning

- Asia and Australia - Evening/Night

A link to the current Daily Check-In post can always be found near the top of the sidebar.

You have lightened a jaded cynical old ex drunks heart and I will be forever grateful for it. I have loved hosting and reading the replies, thank you so much

This quote from u/MuckDr yesterday stayed with me all day.

I understand now that I'm not a mess but a deeply feeling person in a messy world. I explain that, now, when someone asks me why I cry so often,

I say, 'For the same reason I laugh so often - because I'm paying attention.'

Glennon Doyle Melton

Here’s to paying attention!

Without this beautiful place filled with the most honest, caring, passionate, real people I wouldn’t have managed this. You all pulled me through the dark first days/ weeks. The kind words in reply to my posts or thoughts touched me profoundly. The fact that some stranger would take the time to help a fellow struggler was and still is, so powerful.

The power of this place is not to be underestimated, being able to bare your soul anonymously to people who have walked the same path as you is so cathartic. Saying that, it wouldn’t be what it is without YOU. It is the people that make this place special. I have made some friends here that mean a lot to me even though we will never meet.

Shine on you beautiful humans, from New Zealand