I Quit Alcohol for 12 Months and This Is What Happened
Getting high on your own supply can be just as good.
Two days before last year’s Thanksgiving, I made the declaration to quit alcohol and coffee immediately and for all of 2020.
My fiancé and I were traveling back home from India, and while en route, I began experiencing some pretty harsh flu symptoms. This was a very uncomfortable 48 hours for me in mid-air. Never had I felt so horrible before in my life. And so this was enough for me to completely declare banning alcohol (and coffee) for an entire year.
I’ll admit, though, that sticking to my commitment of no alcohol after a few weeks of feeling better was quite the challenge, especially during social events because it felt like I was missing out on all the fun. However, I didn’t give in. I stayed committed to my word.
Giving up the coffee wasn’t as bad, I just replaced it with a variety of different teas. I even ended up engrossing myself into learning more about matchas, the culture of Japan, and a bunch of other cool health benefits associated with drinking tea. (You coffee people are missing out! Just saying.)
Let’s go ahead and get into some of the immediate and more profound benefits of being alcohol and coffee free for 12 months. You just might be surprised at what you end up finding out.
You’ll save a LOT of money each month.
Think about it, how much are you spending on alcohol and coffee combined every week? $20, $40, or could it even be $100+ each week? HuffPost shares a mind-blowing article about a guy who stopped drinking alcohol and coffee for a month and saved enough for a down payment on a new truck. Crazy, right?
Well, something similar happened to me too. Because I quit alcohol and coffee for over a year now, I have $6,000 more in my savings today than I’d have if I’d put this money toward bottles of wine and fancy lattes at cafe’s three to four times a week.
I encourage you to become more aware of how much money you’re spending on alcohol and coffee. Track these expenses for the next 30 days and see what your number is. I can imagine it being a wake-up call for you, and just maybe what propels you to scale it back a bit.
Cheers to more cash in the bank!
It’ll be easier to follow through with your health and fitness goals.
I’m someone who really values their health and fitness, even more so now after getting so darn sick during two and half days of airplane and airport travel. I never want to feel that way ever again.
Since cutting out alcohol, it’s been so much easier for me to wake up earlier, do my morning spiritual practice and then go for a 20-minute run or to the gym for a 30–45 minute workout five to six days a week.
I’ve been more motivated these past 12 months in taking care of my health and fitness than I’ve been in the last 10+ years. I’m sure a big part of that is because I no longer deal with headaches and hangovers.
“Excessive alcoholism does not just affect you in your fitness goals, it affects you in your daily life. You feel more sluggish, you start to choose alcohol over other things you love, and then everything seems to start falling apart,” explains Jasmine Bittar in her October 2020 article on AlcoholRehabGuide.org.
Working out and taking care of your body doesn’t have to be so hard. You just have to get started and make it a habit. Eliminating alcohol can help you with this, for sure.
Maybe consider replacing evening drinking with an evening workout instead.
Your creativity could shoot to the next level.
Oh my god, did my mind clear up after being dry from alcohol for 90 days! I’m telling you there’s something powerful about hitting a 90-day streak with a goal. Whether it be kicking alcohol to the curve, working out consistently, or keeping your distance from a toxic friend or family member. Going 90 days strong is a surefire way to set yourself up for long-term success.
For me, my creativity began stretching to the next level. I started to experiment more in my businesses, trying out new marketing techniques that were fun, productive, and profitable. I began communicating clearly what my boundaries were with some family members, and the outcome has turned out pretty well thus far. I took the plunge on starting my writing career, which I am having a blast working on each day, and other new, unexpected creative opportunities have found me this year.
I cannot confidently say that I’d be where I am now in life if I were still spending most of my evenings and money on consuming alcohol like how I used to. I wasn’t a drunk by any means; however, I did spend at least three to five nights a week, taking in two to four glasses of wine.
That’s quite a bit of alcohol, time and money going out, wouldn’t you agree?
Nowadays, I prefer getting creative with my mind rather than with alcohol. It’s more rewarding, trust me.
Looking ridiculous and making choices you regret later on will happen less.
How many times have you regretted your behavior after one drink too many the next day? Come on, be honest now. Here, I’ll tell on myself. Some of my worst life and relationship choices have almost always been after drinking way too much. I’ll admit I defiantly did the one night stand thing a couple of times and felt horrible about myself after.
I’ve tarnished relationships with people I cared about in the past due to poor behavior choices, and I’ve had people ruin their relationships with me due to theirs. Looking back, the short-lived pleasure of a heavy care-free buzz wasn’t worth it. Not one bit, too much was lost.
But we all have to learn somehow, don’t we? It’s tough breaking out of an emotional comfort zone of drinking to get the edge off. If drinking multiple times a week or more has been a go-to relief strategy for you for a while, it will be a challenge to overcome. But it is 100% possible. And what makes this easier is having a support system to plug into, for example, meeting with a group of like-minded people regularly that have the same goal as you, the goal of replacing their drinking habit with something more productive.
When I decided to quit alcohol for 12 months, I dove into Meetup.com groups to meet new people local to me interested in projects and activities other than a wine club. It’s been a joy meeting more conscious and purposeful women locally. If I was able to do this, you are too.
Lastly, you’re on your way to feeling less dependent on things outside of you to make you feel good.
Getting high on your own supply is where it’s at these days, in my opinion. More than ever before, we need to learn how to generate good feelings and emotions from within.
Being dependent on things outside of you to make you feel good, like alcohol, in this case, is not a smart long-term strategy. It’s a dangerous one because you’ll always have to up the ante to get that “feel good” fix.
I’ve been able to tap into a mental strength that I had no idea existed. And have been feeling more connected to my higher power and intuition since being alcohol and coffee free. There’s no better feeling than knowing at your core you can trust and rely on yourself every day, without needing a substance to help you get there. Talk about power; this is the ultimate.
I’m not implying that you must quit alcohol and coffee altogether if you want to be a happy and empowered individual. No. What I am suggesting is that you take a serious inventory of what you’re putting into your temple each day and what it costs you, figurately and literally.
You deserve to feel strong and powerful in your body and mind too. You also deserve to feel secure and safe financially. Saying farewell to alcohol and coffee (especially alcohol) for the next 12 months can help you do precisely this.
I hope you’ll give it a shot.
