Don’t Binge Drink this Weekend
Try these 3 things instead
Everybody’s working for the weekend
Everybody wants a new romance
Everybody’s goin’ off the deep end
Everybody needs a second chance, oh
You want a piece of my heart?- Loverboy
This goofy song gets stuck in my head every Friday. You’re halfway through your Friday workday and you are excited for the weekend. This song makes you want to punch out and get your weekend started! What amazing thing will happen this weekend? The opportunities are endless, you think. This song helps you get started…
This song makes you want to drink.
Every Friday at around 5:00pm, the world begins to drink. The long work week is over, and it’s time to take advantage of the weekend! But is that really the best way to take advantage of the weekend?
I used to have this mentality. It went something like this:
- Get fired up for the weekend
- Meet friends / begin drinking
- Not remembering the night
- Be hungover the rest of the weekend
- Go back to work
What kind of weekend is that? It’s certainly not a good one. It’s unfulfilling. It’s expensive. It’s bad for your physical and mental health.
I am posting this article on a Friday for a reason. Before you mindlessly start drinking after work today, consider these 3 alternatives:
1. Go to the Gym
DRINKING TRIGGER: Letting out aggression
ALTERNATIVE: Let it out at the gym
Ain’t nothing better…
The gym is the perfect alternative to boozing all weekend. Sometimes we booze because we want to let out our pent-up aggression that has been within us all work week. Let it out at the gym instead. Lift heavy, run hard, and exhaust yourself. Exhausting yourself at the gym will take away this extra aggression. Better to take it out on some weights, not the bottle.
2. Read a Book
DRINKING TRIGGER: A sense of adventure
ALTERNATIVE: Find it in a book
We all want to escape sometimes. The repetition and routine of work can be a drag. The weekend offers a way to break the chains. It offers a sense of adventure and possibility. Many people drink because of this reason.
“Who knows what will happen?!”
“YOLO!”
A night out of drinking can take many twists and turns. The alcohol gives you courage you wouldn’t otherwise have. You end up on a drunken adventure. But how well do these “adventures” go? Usually, not well. These adventures could even lead to a DUI or the drunk tank.
Read instead. The ability to get lost in a book is an adventure. Read a great novel or learn a new skill. Expand your knowledge and enhance your life. There are many books you can read in just one weekend. Dive in!
3. Savor & Sample
DRINKING TRIGGER: Wanting to drink large quantities
ALTERNATIVE: Savor a quality alternative
Now, I didn’t say you couldn’t drink at all. Just don’t binge and waste your weekend away. Many people buy 30 packs of low-quality beer and chug away. Many people order shot after shot of liquor and never enjoy the flavor of alcohol…it goes down too quick.
Pro tip: Buy an expensive bottle of alcohol. You read that right. If you get a nice bottle of liquor, you are more likely to savor it. Step it up and add a cigar to the equation. Find the perfect cigar pairing (such as an Oliva cigar & brandy) and savor it. Enjoy these with a book and kill two birds with one stone.
The goal is to savor your time off, not drink it away.
