It stopped being fun.
I didn’t like the way it made me think, feel, and act.
I worried about what it was doing to me.
I contemplated quitting for a while.
I pondered what would it be like; would I feel different; how might it change me?
I grew increasingly curious.
So I stopped…as simple as that.
It was easy; it was different.
I felt uncomfortable; I felt awkward.
I felt spacious, lighter, and free, as if I’d just dropped off a load of clutter at Goodwill.
This increased my curiosity; I wanted to learn more.
I tuned-in with fascination; what did quitting drinking have to teach me?
I reflected on my drinking habits with fascinating.
As far back as I could remember, celebrating, socializing, or coping involved drinking.
I’ve had periods of not drinking, such as when I was ill, pregnant, nursing, or on travel abroad excursions; but soon after, my drinking habits would return.
This time, my reason to quit was totally about me; I wanted to quit.
I wanted to experience life completely without drinking.
Thinking Experiments
I was amazed by my lack of direction when I quit, as if driving cross-country without a GPS.
I dialed-in my internal compass; I knew the way.
I began playing with new liquid concoctions to indulge in such as iced waters and teas with fresh fruits; same need, different libation.
There’s nothing really alluring or enticing about a glass of iced green tea after a emotionally exhausting day, or is there?
Within days, I stopped experimenting with liquid substances.
My thinking about drinking had shifted.
My thinking about needing or wanting to consume anything to help me socialize, celebrate, or cope was changing.
The need to have a drink, any drink, when socializing, celebrating, or coping ceased…as simple as that.
Thinking Habits
Some might not agree, and that’s truly okay and fine; but stopping a habit, even a deeply ingrained one, is simple…only not easy.
What makes changing a habit hard is not the act of changing the habit; that’s easy, you merely stop the behavior.
What makes changing a habit hard is how we think about stopping the habit.
We worry about what others will think.
We’re afraid of getting uncomfortable.
We resist, react, and avoid.
What causes us to resist, avoid, and react is how we think.
Thinking Changes
Change your thinking and you change how you feel.
Change how you feel and you change how you act.
Change how you act and you stop resisting, reacting, and avoiding.
I stopped the behavior; I quit drinking.
I changed my thinking about drinking, socializing, celebrating, and coping; my feelings shifted.
I no longer felt uncomfortable, awkward, or lost; my internal GPS rerouted.
When we change our thinking, which influences our feelings, and actions, we change the GPS of our life.
It’s that simple.
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