In my teenage years, I was drinking moderate amounts of alcohol. By moderate I mean drinking at parties or social gatherings. At these, we had a lot of fun that came with a high price. Because this fun was ignited by a toxic substance it let us down a path of physical ill-being and a lost sense of self.
After quitting alcohol years ago I realized more and more what is good about being sober. And in this article, I want to share with you three things that are good about being sober and how you can stop drinking.
1. Enhances Spiritual connection
Every time I was drunk, I felt disconnected from my spirit and my true self. I always felt like I was running away and escaping real life. Because the illusionary world I was entering had no purpose and no future payoff. And the worst of all, I couldn’t even undo it. Because time was lost, creative energy was spent. And I lost my path.
I think it’s no coincidence that most major religions restrict alcohol. Because even centuries back, with no scientific proof, the wisest knew that alcohol leads you down a path of inauthenticity, illness and unhappiness, and spiritual disconnection.
Since quitting alcohol, I am able to listen to my inner voice every day. I follow my passion and I fulfill my purpose. And this is so much more than having a short-term payoff from a fun party.
2. Being authentic
Alcohol makes you fun, courageous, talkative, or a not nice person.
You may be wondering why that is a bad thing? Because it is not actually you. If you cannot do the things you do drunk sober, you are fake.
And people get to know this fake person and sadly never know the actual you. Furthermore, if you think the state that you are in when you’re drunk is nice and you would like to be this way in normal life, ask yourself
What is blocking you from doing this? Fear? Anxiety?
If that’s who you can be, positive or negative, but you are not in real life, then ask yourself
Why? What is blocking me or what am I blocking from coming to the surface?
Since quitting alcohol for years now, I feel more authentic. When I am in a social environment and it’s boring, I am not drinking to make it fun. I either leave or create the fun myself.
3. Physical Health
Even though alcohol is one of the most socially accepted drugs it does not diminish the fact that is it harmful. I can cause anything from cancer to heart disease. I hear you now saying “I only drink a glass of wine or one beer here”, regardless, alcohol is a toxin in the body. And the damage starts with the first sip you drink.
After cutting alcohol for over three years, I immediately felt the shift. I felt more energized, I woke up earlier and in general, I felt more productive
So what can you do if you want to stop drinking?
3 Steps To Stop Drinking
1. Find the hidden reason why you want to drink
I believe that the body never initially craves a toxic substance like alcohol when it desires health. The desire for alcohol comes first from the mind and emotions.
So you need to find the reason why you are drinking. Likely you are drinking because you are avoiding or suppressing something in your life. Either an uncomfortable truth, pain, or the lack of purpose. For that reason, ask yourself:
What am I trying to avoid by drinking?
For me, it was feeling awkward and not fitting in in social settings. After figuring that out I decided to not try anymore to fit in but to just be me and find groups where I naturally belong.
When you discover this yourself, you can take steps to resolve this and thus resolve the need to drink.
2. Stand up for yourself
Likely when you make the decision to never drink again, you will still be surrounded by people who do drink. And maybe they push you to drink or you will feel like not fitting in.
In these situations, you need to stay strong in your vision and to your reason for why you are doing this. And it will not be easy in the beginning.
But if you stay strong you not only stay to true yourself, but you also inspire other people.
3. Change your lifestyle
When you make the decision of quitting alcohol to drink you likely remove a lot of activities that were usually involving alcohol. To stick to your new alcohol-free lifestyle, you need to replace these activities with something meaningful.
You can find out what you are passionate about and try out new things. For example: replace the evening party with reading a book on finances. Make a healthy juice or make your own kombucha.
This will help you in quitting alcohol and to live a non-alcohol lifestyle and it will ultimately lead you to authentic relationships, life or purpose, and growth and fulfillment.
