There was a day in my life, where I’ve decided to quit drinking for good. I was playing with this idea for quite some time, but I did not quit till 17 of April 2017. Maybe I was waiting for some kind of final impulse (which came on that day).
What happened? Day before I’ve got drunk. Then I payed really close attention to my thoughts. I did not like what I saw. Who I was under this condition.
Anyway, I do not want to speak in depth why I’ve decided to quit, rather what I learned and why I want to persist with habit of not drinking.
Reason for persisting #1: I have goals. I would say that some people may consider them as crazy ones. I’ve got to the point, where I question every damn activity which I do during a day. And I constantly ask my self: Is this something what brings me closer to my goal, or am I walking the opposite direction from them? For me, alcohol is definitely something which sends me the opposite direction from my goals. Even after first shot, I know that I am not as conscious as I could be, my thinking is slower than usual and logical thinking fades little bit away. When I did couple of those shots, next day I’ve end up with hangover, which is not really productive.
Reason for persisting #2: There is an alternative for social life. There are numerous concerns which rise after telling somebody that I do not drink. How do you rest? Are you having fun? First thing first, I was sober while experiencing one of the best parties in my life. Sure, first one was freaking weir. As everything for the first time. If the only way for partying was being hammered, and then you go sober for the first time, it is the unknown territory. Of course you will feel weir. After 3–5 times anxiety starts to fade away. And then you have fun and there is nothing which would lower your consciousness, which makes those parties even better than before.
However what I really enjoy these days, are deep meaningful conversations. When two people talk about their dreams and vision: how the world could be, if… then it’s truly magical. When you are in this kind of conversation, you want to pay close attention to whoever you listening to. Alcohol does not help with that at all.
Reason for persisting #3: Freedom. This one is probably the most contra-intuitive. How can I be free, if I do not allow my self to have even one beer? (which I really like btw)
What does freedom mean to you? For me it is freely choosing any sort of actions and ability to follow the,. If you decide not drinking for a year, and you find yourself in a bar after a month, are you truly free?
Thanks for reading.
And check out my Instagram if you did not already. I am about to build huge community over there, so I will finish couple more articles with this proposal. Sorry for that :-)