Long Term Goals

Happen in the short term.  That's something I wasn't ready to acknowledge, and drinking kept the edge off of the possible realization.  Every day I spend thinking about an idealized goal out there that will happen, at some indeterminate place, when the timing is right, is another day spent not taking concrete steps to attain that goal, whatever it is.   That said, getting what I think I want means short term discomfort.  At least to some extent.   

It is likewise very easy to commit to long term goals (check out the link) and to agree about values in the long term, and different when we are stressed, anxious, tired, or, generally, right now, when decisions must be made, and also, when the longing to have a drink comes out of hiding.  After all, we never drink in the long term, but most of the truly bad consequences of drinking are in the long term.  Stated another way, the harm of incremental steps comes to play a strong role in developing one's alcoholism, and benchmarking one's drinking against others (particularly in my social group) is likely to be based on what you or I want to be true, and not what is in fact true. And what do we want, generally: the most available short term pleasure we can easily get our hands on.