Friday 31 March 2017

Day 30. The sobriety for life solution

Wrapping up the 30 day solution

ONE

One day to go and this is it......WOO HOO. i have reached the last chapter of the book which has literally been a literary game changer.

Today has been a pretty strange old day. First up i felt really excited this morning knowing that i am super close to finishing this blogging project and using my time at night to do some other fun stuff - oh my god, i can't wait for an early night or five. I had a lovely lunch with my son down by the river. And then a random man shows up at my work and insisted on seeing me and my first thought is shit - has something happened to someone in my family? no they are all fine. it was a bloke serving me divorce papers.

there's a couple of things i think are important in personal relationships - one is that if you no longer want someone in your life who you have shared intimate moments with then you should at least have the courage to tell them. And the other is that if you are going to give someone divorce papers at least think about the timing and location of when this may occur. It shows a level of respect towards another person's feelings and worth. Because having someone turn up to your workplace on a busy busy friday afternoon and insist that they have an appointment with you is pretty lame. And as the look of shock and horror swept across my face in this public forum people's immediate response was - you should go home and have a drink. The divorce papers aren't the issue, the delivery was and the automatic reaction to "go and have a drink" didn't even enter my mind.

Along this program, i have had 2 choices at all times.  One was to put the book down and decide to keep on with my habit of having a few too many vinos every night, or the other one, which was to keep the book open and step further outside my comfort zone. I am excellent with stepping out of my comfort zone, so i went with the option that is going to lead me on a new adventure.

Now that i have read all the chapters and completed all the action items - what next? Do i go back and resume the habit i had previously?  Do i become a normal drinker?  Is there such a thing? Do i abstain for a period of time? Or do i never drink alcohol again. There's a lot of food for thought.

I have taken a break from my relationship with alcohol for 30 days, and just like any break up there may be regrets and hurt, and i can decide if i would like to revisit that relationship and see if it has potential to work or whether i distance myself from it for good and move on to the next chapter of my life knowing that i am better off without it.
I feel very confident that this isn't a relationship i want to pursue anymore so i am going to go forward for another 30 days alcohol free to have some time to enjoy and explore the freedom that i am currently feeling and at some point, i may decide to give alcohol divorce papers. I won't ambush it though, i will tell each and everyone one of the bottles lined up on my bench that we are done.
So what did we have to do today to close out this program? First up congratulate ourselves and then we have to start to turn our solutions into strategies.  We have to acknowledge how we feel - excited or apprehensive and then decide what next. We have to make a plan for moving forward in the next 30 days and if there are doubts about abstinence being normal, then more work needs to be done. They define the characteristics of successful people and in the eyes of the book, it's those who continue to grow and learn and i totally agree with the importance of embracing change and seeking out new opportunities.

And of course, there were action items, and plenty of them.

Action 1. Decide your plan. Am i going to cut back or abstain.
The purpose of life, is a life of purpose
I feel so amazing, clear headed, energetic, i wake up feeling fresher.  My skin feels great, my eyes have a sparkle, i may have lost a little weight.  i have more confidence, no guilt about drinking that one drink too many, more empowered, achieving more with my time and i'm saving money cause i ain't spending it on the booze and i have started conversations and inspired others to think about their relationship with alcohol.

I plan not to drink for the next 30 days. I want to align with my year of conscious living and see where it takes me.

Action 2. Decide how and where to give back.
we have to begin to give back to others over the next 6 months. I am not sure how i will do this, but it's suggested to help others who may wish to take this same journey or volunteer in some form.  I would like to spend a bit more time on consolidating my journey and let my new habits settle in first.

Action 3. Design your new happy hour
we have to start a new daily ritual which is an hour for ourselves - preferably in the morning, I  can practice meditation, gratitude, do yoga, have my detox smoothie, exercise, read or stare at the horizon, This is my hour of power and i can add to it as i see fit.

Action 4. Review the before you and photo and keep journaling
I want to do one more post after this one so i'll share this action item then.

Guess you thought how i felt when i hit day 30 would have been amazing right, well guess what...
I feel so amazing and am wondering how i can inspire others
I can't explain what happened on the last day of the book, but all i can think about is having a drink, How weird. It was almost like a sense of freedom, but again, it was just a thought, not a desire.
went t bed super late, as i was busy making a cake and talking to people on the phone. I had productive things to do.

Well i guess that's it.  I have finished the book.  I have done the actions, I have become alcohol free and i have made true and purposeful change to my life and all it took was 30 days, so this investment is so much better than all of the wine i would have invested in over the past month.

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