30 BEFORE 30 CHALLENGE
13- 30 Days no Alcohol
Simple; 30 days of NO alcohol!
But why did I do this? It was more of a “30 days of clearing my mind” reset.
I did something like this around 9 years ago with Coca Cola. My addiction had become so strong that a 24 pack of cans would not last me long at all! Now 9 years later that little 30 days challenge turned into still being absolutely repulsed by Cola that I haven’t even had a sip. The addiction with Alcohol is nowhere near the level Cola was, but still something I would like to reduce from my life.
Alcohol is always a substance I have had an interesting relationship with. After being around alcohol during my whole teenage years I really had minimal interest. Even moving into my 20’s there still wasn’t overly high interest. To me, drinking alcohol was always just what came with social events in the evening. And as someone who craves any social situation I would be there with a drink in hand to feel like I “fit in”.
Now, I’m not saying I don’t enjoy alcohol… I still love having a cocktail or going on a gin tasting. But I knew I needed to make myself take a break as I noticed the evening drinks slowly increase when I was feeling low at home alone. One drink was turning into another and at the end of a long day, this certainly was not helping me to “destress”. Looking back at this goal I think “past me” had a feeling that “future me” was going to hit a point at the end of my uni semester where I needed to cross this off the list!
So June was my 30 Days with NO ALCOHOL and this is how I felt;
- Lost- I don’t eat evening meals and realised that I had replaced this meal time with a drink.
- Anxious- Because even though the amount I would consume was not high, I could feel my body almost “on edge” for those first 2 weeks.
However, these feelings were only for those first 2 weeks. After this, improvements occurred!
I felt…
- Calm
- Clear
- Motivated
When we cut out alcohol it is amazing how “unfuzzy” the mind can feel. I felt like I had a little more energy and I could do the things I needed to do each day. I don’t know why I am surprised by this as I have gone to several retreats over the years where I have completely changed my diet and felt great! But right now for this moment I clearly needed to set that goal.
It was only last night that I thought I would see how I went having a small can of my favourite 23rd Street Gin and I couldn’t even finish it. Let’s hope this little change sticks!
Positive Mind Waves 