No Alcohol Needed

I came across a quote the other day that stuck with me:

"You already know what to do. You're just negotiating with comfort."

Does that hit you the way it hit me?

I can think of so many times throughout my life I've not taken a step I needed to because I didn't want to feel the discomfort I knew would follow.

I avoided hard conversations so I didn't have to hurt someone's feelings... and ended up resentful instead.
I avoided divorce for years even though I knew it was for the best.
I avoided quitting drinking because I didn't want to feel all the emotions without something to dull them.

I avoided all the things I needed to do because my comfort zone felt 'easier'.

Having finally decided to work up the courage to face the hard stuff, I can tell you this: eventually, what felt impossibly uncomfortable eventually becomes your new comfort zone.

So what is it that you know you need to do, but you're still negotiating with your comfort zone about?

We're gonna talk about exactly this in our free No Alcohol Needed community meeting tonight on Zoom - and you're invited to join us!

I'm going to drop the info so you can sign up in the comments, or feel free to send us a message if you want more info.

It's a great chance to meet other people who are growing in the same direction as you - and talk about stuff that other people don't always "get".

Hope to see ya there!

Quick shout out to the folks in our community that don’t drink alcohol - or are trying to stop.

If you’ve been feeling like you’re one bad day away from losing it lately… you’re definitely not the only one.

More people than you probably realize are holding it together on the outside, but underneath it feels like everything is stacking up to the point of too much.

Work, kids, responsibilities, constant to-do lists… it doesn’t really stop.

And it’s not usually one big thing that takes you down, right? It’s all the small things that never get dealt with that eventually catch up with you.

Most of us were never taught how to handle all the pressures of life in a healthy way.

And if you’ve been trying to get through it without falling back into old habits… it can feel even harder.

I’m hosting a free live workshop on July 23 where I’ll walk through a simple, practical way of dealing with stress before it builds into overwhelm.

It’s not helpful to try to make stress go away, or pretend everything is fine when it’s not.

So this is about knowing what to do when things start piling up so you’re not constantly on edge or snapping over little things and then regretting it.

It’ll be on Zoom, and you’re welcome to keep your camera off if you prefer.
If this sounds like something you could use, comment here or send me a message and I’ll get you the details.

I’ve got a lot going on in my life right now.

Some good, some hard, nothing I can’t handle… but it’s a LOT.

And I’m noticing just how decreased my capacity is to get much done. I’m operating at bare minimum right now. My motivation level is low. And I’m not mad about it - I can see exactly why I’m here, and I know it won’t last forever.

So I’m just being patient with myself.

It reminds me of my early days of not drinking.

At first, it was all I could think about. I wasn’t even an all day drinker, but as soon as it became The Thing I Wasn’t Doing, it was on my mind from sun up to sun down. It was taking up all the mental space I had, and there wasn’t room left for anything else.

I was operating at bare minimum, and I was so frustrated with myself. I was finally not wasting all my time drinking, I wasn’t hungover anymore… but it felt like it took everything I had to get up off the couch.

I had it in my head that I should be making the most of all the new time I had on my hands. But my nervous system had other plans. .

If this is you - if you’re new to this whole not-drinking thing, or if you’ve been at it for a while and life is just a lot right now - I just want you to know it’s okay to give yourself some grace. Give yourself the rest your body and nervous system are craving. Let it be okay to operate at bare minimum for a bit and don’t beat yourself up for it.

This too shall pass.

Maybe not as fast as you’d like - but it’ll pass.

And when you’re on the other side, you’ll be ready to tackle life again.

We got this.

The goal is to create a lifestyle that gives joy a lot of opportunities to show up. 🧡