Ev BogueK. asked: What's the most helpful thing you did this year that made you grow leaps and bounds?
Ev: I untethered from alcohol in June. I'd been a pretty steady drinker all of my adult life, but this summer I decided to try an experiment: what if I untether from alcohol for 30 days?
At the end of the 30 days, I tried to drink half-bottle of wine and threw up all of the wine, plus my dinner. My body wasn't very happy that I started drinking again. So, I haven't drank since.
I have no idea if I'll start drinking again in the future or if this is a forever experiment. For now, I've found that untethering from alcohol has helped me focus on my work, evolution, and health.
When I look back, I see that I was using alcohol has a crutch to avoid two key things:
1. I'm hungry. Often, I was drinking instead of eating. Which led to me eating poorly when I realized that I was hungry later in the night, because I was drunk. Now? I make sure to eat good healthy food (ideally raw or cooked vegetables.) as much as possible when I feel my energy dip.
2. I'm tired. Often, I was drinking instead of taking a nap or a bath. I drive myself pretty hard throughout the day, and occasionally feel dips in energy. In the past this led to 'it must be beer o'clock!'. Now? I take a nap or a bath instead of finding the nearest happy hour.