May 20, 2024
I love New Year – somehow the idea of a “clean slate” and a whole clean shiny year ahead makes me happy – and this time round we have a whole new decade to look forward to!
I have always been a “goal setter” – it’s probably in my DNA after 25 years of corporate life! I still set goals but of course but now it’s all around the development of Tribe Sober together with some personal goals.
Before I quit drinking I would always set a goal to “cut down” on alcohol – what a waste of time that was! Now that I have educated myself about alcohol I can see that it was rather a futile goal. Not only is alcohol chemically designed to be addictive but I am one of those people who don’t possess an “off” switch and will never be able to “drink responsibly”.
By using will power alone I would usually manage a dry (ish) January but inevitably come February I would be out of control again – and feeling miserable.
These days it gives me such a thrill to just jot down “maintain sobriety” and be fairly confident that it will happen.
My life has changed so much since I stopped drinking on May 23rd 2015 that I agree 100% with sober celeb Matthew Perry who says:-
“The thing is if I don’t have my sobriety I don’t have anything”
Our Dry January Challenge is flying! We have already raised R19,500 which is enough to provide yoga classes for 70 children in Khayelitsha and Lavender Hill schools.
Courage and I will be on the Eusebius McKaiser Show (Cape Talk/702) just after 11am Monday 6th January to talk more about the Fundraiser so hopefully that will shake out a few more donations! Please call in if you can..
The Challenge is open until the end of January so you can even register on 31st January and do a “Dry February” – after all it is the shortest month ? Popular start dates seem to be 6th or 13th January this year.
All you need to do is to make a small donation to a good cause and we will send you an email every day full of tools, tips and motivation to get you through an alcohol free month. We’ll also put you on a WhatsApp Group so you can connect with the other Challengers.
If you have the slightest doubt that taking just one month off alcohol has significant health benefits then you need to read this blog.
If you are looking to make a permanent change and go for an Alcohol Free Life (spoiler alert: it’s awesome) then this Challenge could give you just the start you need.
We are in touch with most of the people who have been through our workshops (that’s more than 600 people) and I have come to an interesting conclusion recently. A bit of an a-ha moment for me.
Of the people who want to quit completely most of them find:
The first 30 days is the toughest time (so it makes sense to use the Dry January Challenge to get access some online support)
As people complete their first 100 days it gets easier as the brain gets “rewired”, the body begins to heal and not drinking becomes the new normal. During this time people say that they get GLIMPSES of the benefits of alcohol free living – and they like what they see.
After 6 months people tend to be in a completely different place mentally and physically. Anxiety levels have plummeted, energy is sky high, they have lost weight and no longer fear socialising without alcohol as they have learned the survival tricks.
The sad thing is that many people (and I was one) spend their lives getting on and off the wagon which means that they do those first few weeks over and over again – and of course those first few weeks are the hardest and you never get to experience any of the many benefits of sober living. The result of wallowing in these dark days of trying and failing is that your subconscious mind picks up the idea that this is what sobriety is all about – and it sucks… – that could be why sobriety gets such a bad press and is labelled as boring and difficult.
So whether you want to use the Dry January Challenge to get you through those tough early days on the way to permanent sobriety, or whether you just fancy a 30 day “detox” please click HERE and register right now!
janet x
