Hi Don,
thanks for your support, and yes the metaphor of mount climbing makes sense.
but let us face it I have been trying to climb this mountain maybe 30+ times, and I have fallen 30+ times, some of them were very hard, and I can say now I am not starting from the bottom of that mountain I am actually starting from the bottom of the nearby valley.
I am not where I have started 3 or 4 years ago, I am really below that level financially, and in every aspect of my life, simply I still have the same mess but I am older now by 4 years.
On the positive side, I am more mature mentally after all these relapses and I am learning from each time I fall,
what I meant by writing all that timeline of +1300 days is to give myself a realistic goal, a dream that can be achieved if I stayed free of gambling for such period, it makes the daily struggles easier to fight if I aim at that goal. and on the other hand, it keeps me realistic about where I am now, and what will happen if I step the wrong step again. it is like reward and punishment, I am giving myself something to aim at and something to be afraid of.