When I started this experiment, I committed to the longest period I felt I could achieve. Having never gone more than 31 days without alcohol, 100 days was a huge stretch. In many ways, it was much easier than I expected and at no point was I tempted to waver, even though I had days…
Category: 40 days without sugar
Day 99: Lesson 14 from quitting booze and sugar. There is a point where you’ll think you’re failing. You’re not.
There’s a concept I train in corporate workshops. It’s called ‘The 4 Stages of Competence’ and although I understood how it was useful in helping adults understand what they’d go through when they learned a new skill at work, I hadn’t thought about its relevance to me and things I would need to learn as…
Day 98: Lesson 13 from quitting booze and sugar. You can’t selectively numb emotions
“We cannot selectively numb emotions, when we numb the painful emotions, we also numb the positive emotions.” Brene Brown That pretty much says it all, really. I think this is partly why it’s so easy to get stuck in the cycle of numbing – because we never feel good enough to stop doing it. I…
Day 97: Lesson 12 from quitting booze and sugar. Helping other people helps you too.
Do you have a mind like mine – where the landscape ranges from tropical paradises to fly-infested swamps, tar pits and quicksand? If you do, you’ll also be familiar with the feeling of getting stuck in those swamps and pits. The harder you fight, the worse it feels and the deeper you sink. I get…
Day 95: Lesson 10 from quitting booze and sugar. It’s not supposed to be easy.
Imagine this: You’re in a town you don’t usually visit and you go into the bank. You usually bank online but this day you go into the bank. While you’re in there, the bank is robbed and you are shot in the arm. Nobody else is hurt. Were you lucky or unlucky? This scenario is…
Day 94: Lesson 9 from quitting booze and sugar. Some days are shit.
I feel shit today. There’s no reason for it. I just do. It’s my birthday today. The first one of my adult life without alcohol and the first one of my entire life without sugar. That would be the obvious reason for feeling low but I don’t think that’s it. Nor is it about getting…
Day 93: Lesson 8 from quitting booze and sugar. Never ‘should’ on yourself.
Oh God! The agony I caused myself about what I ‘should’ do or ‘should’ be able to do! It was excruciating! I should be able to eat healthily without ending up with my head down the toilet. I should be able to have one glass of wine without wanting a second glass or a third…
Day 92: Lesson 7 from quitting booze and sugar. Adopt a Growth Mindset.
At it’s most basic, a growth mindset is “the power of YET”. “I can’t do it,” becomes, “I can’t do it yet.” The idea is that with practice, anyone can do anything. Of course, if you’ve ever practiced something diligently without making any real progress, you could be forgiven for thinking that the Growth Mindset…
Day 91: Lesson 6 from quitting booze and sugar. Top up your motivation.
Almost all of my early attempts to quit drinking or change my relationship with food have failed. This time I am succeeding and I think some of that success comes from topping up my motivation on a daily basis. In the past, I wrote goals in journals and didn’t look at them again. I also…
Day 90: Lesson 5 from quitting booze and sugar. Exercise self-compassion.
My goodness! What a difference this made! I used to think that the harder I was on myself, the more likely I was to succeed. As much as I hated the mental beatings, they felt like a necessary evil. How was I ever going to get anywhere if I went easy on myself? I had…
