How do you break addiction to signups once you realize activation is where real startup health is?

For the longest time my weekly dopamine hit was watching the signups counter tick up. I thought traction meant volume.

Then we started tracking 7-day and 30-day active usage, and the reality check was brutal. We were pouring water into a leaky bucket, celebrating every new registration while users slipped away silently within 48 hours.

For founders who survived this transition: what specific metrics or milestones forced you to stop celebrating signups and actually fix your activation loop?