It’s been longer than I remember since I’ve had an alcoholic beverage, and if I’m being honest, I don’t feel like I’m missing anything. I haven’t officially tagged it as “quitting,” but I’ve made a conscious decision that I’m just as much me without drinking.
To put it into perspective, I was a craft beer fanatic, a whiskey enthusiast, and a social drinking butterfly. I’d spend the week looking forward to Fridays and going and snagging the most random and sometimes rarest beers, and it cost me a good bit weekly.
But one day I something changed.
Something shIfted in my Mindset
It was actually more than an instant change. Honestly, I was going through some health challenges and then suddenly that Friday haul just wasn’t a priority. These challenges lasted for about three months, and in this time I realized that drinking really wasn’t something that I missed.
After everything leveled off, I decided to just keep up the momentum and see what I was capable of. I started shifting my energy to other areas of my life and it started to bare fruit.
Fast forward to today, I’ve put out four new songs and I’ve been working on new material ever since.
Unlocking potential
There are different types of energy that exist. The type I want to focus on here is potential energy.
potential energy, stored energy that depends upon the relative position of various parts of a system. A spring has more potential energy when it is compressed or stretched.
I think that I had a lot of potential energy that was being pent up but not released. At some point in my life I used to believe that substance unlocked this energy, but now I believe that over time substance has a diminishing return. At first there is a lot of momentum, but at some point you’re dredging along.
I’m also able to have more clear interactions, and I can remember clearly details of events. It has been a long time since I can say that’s been the case. It’s a great feeling to know that my social courage is of my own volition.
Will i drink again?
I’m not sure at this point, but I do know that I am riding this wave out to see where it takes me.
The most difficult time I have is in social situations, but for me being aware of the discipline that I am exercising within me, is super rewarding.
Thanks for reading!