These blog posts document my journey of abstaining from alcohol for a year with the help of the One Year No Beer program. Please feel free to comment because I know there are others that could benefit from hearing your voice as well. I would be thrilled if we could be on this journey together. I started this blog about 60 days in the challenge, so there’s plenty of time for us to be goal friends.
Sprint 19: July 1-July 14, 2022
I was behind a few days and binge watched the second half of this sprint. Interestingly, there was a concept that caught my attention; confidence. I’m not sure how I appear, but I have issues with confidence. I have chronic imposter syndrome, second guess myself unnecessarily, think I look stupid, and set nonsensical boundaries because of my issues with confidence. I’ve spoken about my desire to vlog and the main reason I haven’t is due to confidence issues. I literally fear that I look and sound silly. I am not comfortable with putting myself out in video form. I hide behind my words in blogs and pictures are snapshots. There’s something about the fluidity of video that gets to me. It’s irrational. This sprint was thought provoking because I never thought about the fact that people use alcohol for their confidence. My perception that I look silly actually did the opposite for me. I would be wild and crazy that night and then ruminate the next day about if I looked foolish. The sprint taught me that my lack of confidence is normal and that gaining confidence is a learned skill. It’s so beautiful when hope isn’t lost. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean that I’m going to vlog right now, but it will help me be more likely to do so when the opportunity arises.
Sprints 20 and 21: July 14- August 11, 2022
Sprints 20 and 21 contained a bit of content about values. I encourage everyone to put names to their values and think about what in your life supports or goes against those values. I first learned about this during supervision for treating patients with substance use disorders. We used the Miller cards (https://meetingpointcounseling.com/tools/MI-card-sort/) Putting words to my values was valuable, but reflecting on if I lived according to my values was invaluable. I liked that the inspirations challenged me to think about a value I would like to have as my better self. The example they gave was health. Ironically, although I wouldn’t readily list health as a value, but it is something that drives many of my decisions. It’s also a main value that causes me to stay abstinent. I don’t want to feel sick, have early onset cognitive decline, or become dependent on alcohol to cope. I’m so happy to be rid of alcohol. I’m better able to value health without feeling like an absolute hypocrite. It reminds me of the end of church sermons at Huber Memorial Church. Pastor PM Smith would end most of his sermons with the command to, “Live like it!” It’s great to know your values and what you believe, but the real work is taking the time to own those values and live like they define you.
If you want more information about the One Year No Beer program. Check out this LINK. I strongly recommend this program if you question your relationship with beer. Even if you’re doing a “dry” month, it could be helpful for you to meet your goal.