Why I Stopped Drinking Alcohol For A While

Stress on the body is a bad thing. It’s common knowledge that eating healthy is a major contributor to a healthy body. Junk food, alcohol, smoking and all other things we throw at our system doesn’t make a positive contribution to our overall health. Science has proven that over time, the body regenerates itself. When you have a wound or cut, the skin grows back within a matter of days. In a similar way, the body gets rid of old cells and regenerates new ones constantly. Some take a few days, some a few months, others a few years to regenerate. Approximately every seven years, we have a brand new physiological body.

Those cells need fuel to grow, and are regenerated from what we feed our bodies. What do you want to fuel the regeneration process of your body with? Using the wrong foods leads to all sorts of problems, ranging from a wide variety of allergies and diseases to a national epidemic of obesity and potentially even cancer. Instead of blaming a disease as something that happens to us, it’s time to take responsibility for the gift of our body and taking proper care of it. Every cancer patient I have ever met has confirmed to me they believed living healthier might have had, at the very least, a positive benefit. Even if living healthier alone couldn’t cure the disease, it might have been enough to prevent it. What if it could?

Creatures of Habit

We’re all creatures of habit. I like having certain routines in my life. It makes me comfortable, knowing more or less what to do and expect next. I also like to break my habits by removing everything familiar to me. It helps me discover if I really love my habits, or if it’s time to change up a few things. Habits are tricky things and often sneak into a pattern that we didn’t even notice was there. I really enjoy a good glass of wine, but there was a time where I would have “a glass” every night, which usually turned into several glasses, just for the sake of comfort of sipping on something.

When I was asked to not drink for an entire week at a conference I realized I was able to break that habit without any effort. I was just as comfortable drinking a glass of water at night. When I writing my Happiness book I’ve only had a drink on weekends, and was sticking to coffee and water on other days.

The key is in the enjoyment of anything in life.

I actually find I’m doing fine and breaking that habit turned out to be much easier than expected. On the weekends I enjoy my glass of wine more than when I was having wine every night. The key is in the enjoyment of anything in life. Once you no longer enjoy what you’re doing and merely continuing the behavior because of a habit, it’s time to see if you need to change it. I’m not sure if I’ll maintain my weekend-only wine drinking habit for the rest of my life, but for now it suits me well, even if it’s just to try something new.

Breaking the Pattern

Gradually introducing change in the areas you want it most typically leads to more sustainable results. You can test new things out for a while. Research shows that you can form a new habit if you stick to doing something for a period of thirty days without skipping a day. Dave Andrews changed himself from being addicted to alcohol to becoming sober in thirty days. He wrote his book “The 30-Day Sobriety Solution” about that thirty-day life changing transition. Even though I would classify his story as a revolution and a major breakthrough, he only attained his life-changing results by forming a new habit and sticking to it for a period of thirty days straight.

The principles in The 30-Day Sobriety Solution were carefully developed into a program by Dave Andrews and tested by thousands whose inspiring stories of recovery are shared throughout the book. Organized into five phases that span 30-day periods, this book guides you through each day with practical exercises that, over time, allow you to more easily make positive choices again and again.

Integrating neuroscience, cognitive therapy, proven tools, and teachings, The 30-Day Sobriety Solution’s daily program will help you achieve your goals—whether that’s getting sober or just cutting back—and create positive, permanent change in your life. Whether you want to quit drinking altogether, cut back, or try something different, it all starts with 30 days (and a copy of Dave’s book).

You can form a new habit if you stick to doing something for a period of thirty days without skipping a day.

Read More

This post contains excerpts from my book The Freedom Project: Happiness. Here’s what the coauthor of The 30-Day Sobriety Solution, Dave Andrews, had to say about my book:

The desire to pursue “freedom” could almost be considered universal, regardless of age, race, culture, or gender. But how each of us defines “freedom” is anything but universal. My strong desire to achieve “freedom” in my life helped give me the courage to leave the corporate world to start my own business. However, what I came to realize was how little clarity I actually had on what “freedom” meant to me. What it meant in relation to my business, my relationships, my hobbies, and ultimately my success and happiness. If I could go back in time I would do one thing differently—I would read The Freedom Project. This is a must have book for anyone that wants a step-by-step guide in how to discover and create the “freedom” you truly desire in your life.

— Dave Andrews, coauthor of The 30-Day Sobriety Solution