Next month, I’ll be celebrating nineteen years of sobriety.

It’s not been an easy or smooth journey; it’s been challenging at times, to say the least. It’s been almost two decades since I’ve had a drink, but I still feel my body crave even a sip at times. While I don’t have any profound secrets or new methods for maintaining sobriety, I do have personal insights into how I’ve made it this far that I’d like to share with you.

First, if you ever want to get sober or maintain sobriety from drugs and alcohol, you must believe and trust that your life is better sober. Ask anyone who has achieved sobriety—life is leaps and bounds better. The daily battle to stay clean may be tough, but it’s a much better alternative.

In the weeks after getting sober, my mind felt clear for the first time in years. I could look back and see the choices and situations that led me down the wrong path. With this clarity, I was then able to make wiser decisions. Now, my life is truly filled with joy, love, success, and prosperity—because of my sobriety. I tell you this to give you hope that these things are possible in your life, too.

The second insight to achieving sobriety—and maintaining it—is to decide for yourself that nothing will be allowed to cause you to relapse. Once you decide to be sober, decide relapse is not option. Make this resolve and you’ll be strengthening your stance.

During my first few months of sobriety, I received therapy to take an introspective look at my life. At some point, I imprinted the exact moment I decided to achieve sobriety—I would not let myself forget. Whenever the urge to drink comes upon me (and trust me, it’s occurred thousands of times over the years), I remember that moment. It serves as my line in the sand—I will never go back to that time. No matter the urges, the desperation, the anger, or the difficult days, I will not drink.

The decision to get sober is a daily decision. You don’t have to let fleeting urges control you. I believe you can get and stay sober—do you?