I quit drinking alcohol about a year ago — here’s why you should do that, too
I’m a mother of three boys. I work full time as a inhouse organizational development consultant and agile coach. I have a 50 hours a week-job which I love just as much as I love my four men at home. And just like with every other person on this planet I only have so many resources and patience, I only have so much attention for the small and bigger things that deserve it, and I only have so many hours a day, a week, a month to get stuff done.
About a year ago, I noticed that often times, at night when the best of all husbands and I brought the kids to bed, I didn't have the patience that my children deserved with the evening rituals. I was looking forward to finally sending them off to sleep so that I could lay down on the couch and have a glas of wine. It wasn’t just this little patience that I noticed. On top I have always been ambitious with my sports — Handball is a team sport and my all-time favorite. So staying in shape was also/still is a constant item on my GTD-list.
Everyone knows that drinking alcohol is mostly bad for your health. Plus, alcohol has a lot of calories. I could eat an apple and would still not have the same intake as with a glas of wine.
All of that still wasn't enough to change my mind and to stop drinking. What really made the difference were two things that happened last year: For one thing my husband started talking about not drinking any alcohol anymore and eventually I picked up on that narrative. And the second instant that finally kicked it off for us was the #oneyearnobeer challenge that was trending on #socialmedia last year. I looked at these bright young wo*men and their pre/post pictures, I read their stories on #medium and #instagram and couldn't stop pretending like drinking alcohol was anything but a stupid habit — and for some people even a nightmare of their entire life.
My autonomy is extremely important to me. Just like health, mental health, phyiscal fitness and nature, autonomy is a core principle of my life. Tell me your recommendation and I would literally do the exact opposite — that much of a reactant person am I. So realizing that alcohol has had such a strong impact on me, that it would shorten my patience, that it would harm my mental and physical health, I couldn't stand it anymore.
So New Year’s Eve we gave up drinking.
And although I have turned 35 this year, I feel like I am in great shape. I sleep extremely well. In the morning I look into the mirror and the person staring back at me doesn't look somewhat sick or “fluffy”. I have rosy cheeks and feel so proud. Even when Covid hit, I never even thought about drinking alcohol.
A couple of weeks ago some friends came over. I bought a bottle of dry white wine for her, because I knew she would like a glass. Yesterday, I poured some of the left over into our vegan tomato sauce and cooked a delicious meal from that wine. That’s it. The bottle is still there, awaiting her next appearance when another tomato sauce is due. Until then we will keep drinking everything else out there except alcohol.
With New Year’s Eve approaching, the #oneyearnoalcohol challenge will be over for me. I already know: There is no going back.
