Greatness of any kind has no greater foe than a habit of drinking.

A daily habit that dulls you takes its toll on everything you are trying to build, and it does so quietly. The damage is not one dramatic failure but a slow reduction: the mornings that are slightly worse, the work that is slightly less sharp, the ambitions postponed a day at a time until they are gone. Capacity is the thing being spent.

If a habit is taking more from you than it gives, the useful first step is honesty about the size of it rather than a vow. Count what you actually do over a normal week and write the number down. Help is worth asking for early.