the more time you spend in active recovery from any given self destructive behavior or addiction the more you understand the common conception of the "relapse" as defined by a broken "streak" to be, like, so bad for one's own well-being that it would be funny if it weren't resulting in just a lot of misery and death
I told my girlfriend to think of quitting vaping as training her endurance by seeing how long she can run before she gets tired, then doing it again and hoping to go further next time. She said it really helped her.
This is the stages of change model, with each circle being a part of the process of growth. You'll notice how relapse is not a failing of the model, or a set back, but an active step in continuing to grow and change. Everytime you relapse, you learn something; maybe a certain time of year is difficult for you. Maybe certain people push you back into the habit. Maybe your other coping skills/replacement habits didn't work how you wanted and you need to strengthen them, or develop new ones. Maybe it's not quite as clear cut and you need to spend the time figuring out what exactly went wrong so you can catch it next time. It doesn't matter the exact lesson, but it's part of the process.
