I’ve been sober for about 5 years. It’s the best decision I’ve made in my adult life that was completely under my own control. I didn't consider myself an alcoholic, but alcohol wasn't helping me live my life to it's fullest potential.

Here’s 10 Things I Learned Quitting Alcohol

1.

Initially it’s difficult.
You feel self-conscious.
You think about what others will think of you and you feel awkward because the habit is still there.

2.

Then you quickly realize that others secretly want to quit drinking or consider it a problem in their own life and they admire you for quitting.
Keep these people in your life.

3.

You also realize that others secretly want to quit drinking or consider it a problem and they will take offense to you not drinking.
Remove these people from your life or at least make sure they don't stop you from going sober.

4.

You realize that you can have fun without drinking.
It’s pretty cool to be able to go out and still have fun while not having to get annihilated.
Your confidence grows by leaps and bounds.

In those social situations you can no longer use alcohol as a crutch, you know for certain people like you for who you are, not for who the alcohol made you or brought out.

5.

Quitting alcohol is an incredible lesson of the power of self-control.
After the first couple of times you turn down a drink, you start to feel that you have a self-control that others only wish they had.
You realize that drinking is the largest social pressure.

6.

Alcohol is robbing your joy.
If every celebration in your life involves alcohol, you will soon forget what it is to naturally feel joy.
It robs the richness of your emotional life.

As a man as well I’ve found that it takes me time to process my emotions or events, alcohol was robbing me of that time. It invades your subconscious.

Alcohol is killing your courage. Many will find this counter intinuitive, but if you need a drink to talk to the girl or to relax, are YOU really being courageous? Or is it the alcohol? I do everything sober, I know it was me. There's power in that.

8.

Drinking is like a black hole.
It starts out that you drink while doing other activities, but eventually the only thing that remains is drinking.
If certain parts of your personality only come out when you are drunk, you can start to lose touch with who YOU are.

9.

You quickly realize how stupid people act when they are drunk and then realize that you were doing the exact same thing.
It allows you to take a step back and wonder how many other things people do to compensate for some issue.
It allows you to self-reflect.

10.

Alcohol makes it incredibly easy to make decisions that could potentially ruin your life.
Look at car accidents or violent crimes, there’s a statistically significant chance that alcohol is usually involved.

Everyone thinks they are rebelling when they are drinking, but look around you, everyone drinks.
The modern day rebel is the non-drinker who takes control of his life outside the influence of substances like alcohol. Healthy in mind, body, and spirit. Alcohol poisons all 3.

My goal is to live the best life I possibly can in this short time I have on this planet and alcohol was not helping me in that goal so I had to get rid of it.

How much lost potential has alcohol taken to the grave from our world, from your life, and from your family?

My father died at 59 and alcohol was a big reason for his death even though he was sober for the last 12 years of his life. His addiction stole years away from his life. He missed the first year my life and divorced my mother when I was 12. I won't repeat his mistakes.

Drinking is something completely under your control.

Take control of your life.