Sunday 25th June 2023
Well, here I am – I’ve reached the finishing line. When I went out last night to a friend’s house to watch Glastonbury on the big screen, I wasn’t not drinking because I was committed to not drinking for a year, but because I was choosing not to.
When I decided last May that I was going to do this, I told my husband that I was taking a 3-pronged approach: I would commit to not drinking and, at the same time, I would train for a marathon and I would reach my goal weight. As it turns out, I can only tick one of those boxes. However, …… Last night I made a pact to enter next year’s Edinburgh marathon. I’d already pretty much decided myself that I was going to go for it but, now that I have a buddy keen for us to sign up asap, the commitment has strengthened. Weight-wise, I had wanted to lose a stone and a half and the scale this week told me I had lost 11 of those 21 lbs, so just edging over the half way mark. I’ll take that – partly because, with a few more tools in my toolbox and a marathon to train for, I’m confident that I will reach that goal within the next year, but also because, all of a sudden, I don’t feel that bothered about it and that feels quite liberating. Could it be that my “letting go” is working at a deep and unexpected level? I’ll take that too! So, only 1 out of 3 in terms of goals attained by the time I reached the finishing line but, would I swap all the other gains I’ve experienced this year in order to tick all 3 of those boxes? No, definitely not.
This time last year I was listening to Euphoric, the Podcast for inspiration. As Karolina enthused about the good that can come out of a person committing to taking a break from alcohol, I had no idea that my own journey would turn out to be quite so transformative. I can categorically say that this is the best thing I have ever done for myself. I have gone with the flow of the Universe and, in doing so, I have learned so much. I am happier, healthier, more hopeful and more positive than I have been in many years and I do believe I am a better person because of it.
So, what about alcohol, going forward? Annie Grace likes to say that she drinks as much as she wants, whenever she wants, she just never drinks. I am more likely to be like Ruari Fairbairns from One Year No Beer, who voiced a slightly different approach when he went on her podcast: “I drink as much as I want, whenever I want – I just hardly ever drink”. When I decided to get all my thoughts about alcohol out of my head and onto paper, so to speak, it was with the intention of making alcohol a small and insignificant part of my life – a bit like diet coke. I used to drink a lot of it and now I hardly ever do but, once in a while, it hits the spot and the rest of the time, I don’t even think about it. I think I’ve pretty much said everything I wanted to say about alcohol and now I’m ready to move on – I have other fish to fry! The future is bright, the future is sunrise orange and “every day, in every way, I am getting better and better.”
Theme Tune: A Thing Called Love by Johnny Cash