Where I am with Alcohol

Welcome to the Anturas newsletter, where I share my thoughts, learnings, and failures to help you think, learn, and grow. If you enjoy it, please feel free to forward along to friends.

Quote I Loved: 

"Alcohol is the only drug on earth you have to justify not taking" - Annie Grace 

Things I Am Thinking About:

A couple weeks ago, we walked through a text from one of my clients breaking down his three paths of alcohol.

This week, I want to chat about where I am on my alcohol journey.

If you truly want to change your relationship with alcohol you need a why and a desired outcome.

For me, my why was I was tired of feeling groggy and not living up to my full potential. The outcome I wanted was more happiness, health, and energy.

My hypothesis was that without alcohol in my life, I would be happier overall.

I didn't drink for ~6 months and I found that was true 98% of the time.

So what about the 2%?

For me, the 2% was my 30th birthday at a hot springs with Kel, or drinking on the beach in Antigua with nowhere to go or a care in the world. 

So I figured, sweet, I'll just only drink during the 2%.

The problem I faced?

Scope creep.

When I tried to just wing it and only drink for those 2% occasions, I slipped back into drinking for some non-2% occasions.

Like anything major in my life, I realized if I wanted to make a change, I needed a system.

The easiest "system" to implement for alcohol, and the one I did at the beginning of the year was, "I don't drink ever." It leaves no room for flexibility so there is no room for scope creep. Unfortunately, this was not a sustainable option for me (for those who it is, fantastic!) 

So the all or nothing approach didn't work. Now I'm shifting to what I call the question system.

Whenever I think about drinking, I ask myself a set of questions.

1. Do I want to drink because I'm stressed?

2. Am I drinking to escape something (e.g., boredom, work)?

3. Is this habitual?

4. Is this a social crutch?

5. Do I have work or anything important tomorrow?

6. Have I tried not drinking in this situation?

These last two are more of a journal

1. Why am I drinking?

2. How many times have I drank this month?

There are only a few times throughout the year where drinking is a net positive to me. This system calls me on my bulls***.

For me, this is my take at the best of both worlds. I get the benefits of not drinking and feeling my best, but if the situation is perfect, then I indulge.

What's your process for alcohol? Shoot me message! I'd love to hear what you are doing.

Favorite Photo From the Week:

Each morning I record a thought of the day which I post on Instagram stories and LinkedIn. I usually use the walk down the street to record and post, and the walk back to chat with Kel. One thing I love about our street is right at the turnaround point there are horses. They are always so friendly and excited to see us.

Till next week, be kind, be curious and work hard. 

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