"Quitting alcohol" versus "Greatly reducing my alcohol load"
If you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles... if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.
~DrakeSun Tzu
Knowing how the brain works is essential to overcoming many battles in life. Battles take on many forms. We have battles in the work place, battles in the home space, there are external battles like finishing a project within an allotted time, and also internal battles such as overcoming lost confidence. Whatever form the battle takes we use our mind as a tool to overcome it.
My battle was against the devil's brew, sweet sweet delicious alcohol. I have had this same battle many time before. I'm not an alcoholic, but as soon as real summer hits the UK I like to go out for a drink. It is refreshing to drink a beer on a hot summer day and make the most of fleeting warm summer. Unfortunately over time due to global warming, warm summer is no longer a fleeting event.
This behaviour of mine had never been a problem until the last few summers. I realised I had to regulate my drinking because the heat would continue. Having a cold alcoholic beverage to cool myself down had become a habit, and one drink would often lead into another one or two. I wasn't drinking much, but was drinking everyday for several weeks.
So I decided to quit alcohol, but that turned every last drink into a fun last drink before quitting hot summer's day drinking session. After over a week of having quit alcohol but now drinking more than ever I knew I had to change strategy.
So I told myself I am greatly reducing my alcohol load and my urge to drink alcohol instantly vanished. Because I wasn't quitting, I no longer felt like I wanted it.
This incident reminds me of a recent tolerance break I was on from marijuana. Because I wasn't allowing myself to smoke the marijuana I was jonesing for it so hard. I overcame this by changing the narrative to thinking about how good my next smoke was going to be. I was no longer jonesing.
I know I am not a quitter. Quitting creates temptation.
I can resist anything except temptation
~ Oscar Wilde
By changing the psychological narrative and not thinking myself as a quitter I was able to stop/reduce with ease. In conclusion, know yourself and you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles...
@RiskDebonair
Irish Writer, Poet, & Lover
The important thing is that we strive every day to become a better person. It takes some serious willpower. Even more to admit to ourselves we are doing something wrong. I congratulate you on your achievements!
This works well in tandem with my last post so I sent people your way and advertised you there, also 100% vote applied here ;)
Thanks! ^_^
I am generally very good at moderating myself, but I find beer so moreish when its hot, and it goes so well with summer fun. I love beer and will continue to drink it, but not everyday in such glorious quantities.
When I stopped smoking marihuana, I begun drinking very much.
As a replacement for the weed.
Drinking for the effect of alcohol than their is a problem, otherwise it's quite OK according to me.
After about 6 months I realised , I don't like the effect of alcohol (being drunk) that much. In fact didn't like it at all, was never "high" enough and 3 hours after drinking had headache.
So I stopped it easily ( no problem to quite something your not fond on) , now drinking 1 or 2 beers very occasionaly.
Funny in that period I drunk 5 Duvels (Belgium heavy beer), now I feel it after 1. :-) Stopping with weed was way harder for me.
But your so right , it's all in the mind. ( between your ears ) :-)
Succes , I hope you get what you want.
Me too I always drink everyday but suddenly I notice that I always feel sickly everyday so I decided to stop my bad habits like drinking and smoking. And then now after I stop my bad habits. i can feel a change from my body. I feel more comfortable now
I'm so sorry to hear that you have directly felt the effects of global warming so profoundly. Damn those warm summer nights!
May your new strategy of reduction instead of removal be a successful one.
Thanks! I feel bad for my Pakistani and Bangladeshi friends who are really feeling global warming. Although I did get bit by my first mosquito in the UK a few weeks ago. So that worries me. I don't like being eaten :'(
Oh shit! You really did not have mosquitoes there before? There tons over here in Norway.
Yeah, Bangladesh and places like that are in some serious trouble with the climate :(
During warm periods we have very few per square kilometre in certain areas. I normally reside in colder areas and I have never seen them in UK before until this summer.
You made the right choice. I also drink much less than before. I'll follow you because you're a smart person.
Well said ,I quit drinking 4years ago ,cuz I didn't enjoyed this process anymore. So if you stop drinking than also you stop partying. Stay strong mate 🙂
by the way great post :)
Try this. I had a habit of overeating and overdrinking. Then I started substituting big dinners for a couple of full-flavored beers. I no longer desire hard liquor and I have lost 25 pounds.