I made the decision to embark on 100 days without alcohol at the end of October last year. I tried many ways to talk myself out of it. The anticipation: Can I possibly do family Thanksgiving without alcohol? Or, OMG, Christmas and all the parties that precede it? Oh, and then there's New Year's Eve- without alcohol, without even a glass of champagne? A travesty!!
And then some tentative part of me said: Well, Carrie- If you can carry this off, through all these holidays, you will know that you are truly divorced from needing alcohol. If you can do this, you can handle any event or crisis without needing alcohol. Go for it, babe!!
Belle had mentioned something about the anticipation of an event without alcohol often being far worse than the actual event, and I kept that in mind.
I'm not gonna lie- there were some terrifically difficult moments. When a glass of crisp white wine would have felt like the greatest! But the less I thought about what I was missing, and the more I focused on my 'Here and Now'- the better it was. When the regrets began to feel overwhelming, I used my Focus Tactic: Sitting down, pulling into myself, and Noticing all that was around me: The crackling fire, the murmur of multiple conversations, the smell of roast turkey in the air, the cool bubbly-ness of the club soda I was drinking, the fresh scent of the lime slice I had in the glass.
And, lo, it was not as miserable as I'd been anticipating. When I added the lower-than-expected misery quotient to the pride I felt in my success- It really was not too bad an experience at all.
I thought I couldn't fly without having a glass or two of wine before getting on the plane. I was very nervous anticipating my first flight without alcohol, about 3 weeks into this 100 day challenge. I was prepared for, anticipating a tooth-clenching, shaky and sweaty flight. I treated myself to a new glossy magazine and boarded the flight. I mentally got a firm grip on the arm-rests, and we took off. When the drinks cart came by, I asked for a diet coke. An hour and a half later, we landed. Whoa, I said to myself. That was fast. And I realized I was no longer a nervous flier. How many years had I been self-medicating before flying- for what turned out to be a no-longer-active problem.
Another anticipation far worse than the reality. So now when I notice I am fearful/nervous in anticipation of a future event- I give myself a mental shake (picture one of my dogs coming in from the rain) and remind myself: Carrie, wait and see. Don't spend energy anticipating- just commit to the experience.
Carrie's New Event Anticipation Motto: "Cowards die many times before their deaths. The valiant never taste of death but once". Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
And then some tentative part of me said: Well, Carrie- If you can carry this off, through all these holidays, you will know that you are truly divorced from needing alcohol. If you can do this, you can handle any event or crisis without needing alcohol. Go for it, babe!!
Belle had mentioned something about the anticipation of an event without alcohol often being far worse than the actual event, and I kept that in mind.
I'm not gonna lie- there were some terrifically difficult moments. When a glass of crisp white wine would have felt like the greatest! But the less I thought about what I was missing, and the more I focused on my 'Here and Now'- the better it was. When the regrets began to feel overwhelming, I used my Focus Tactic: Sitting down, pulling into myself, and Noticing all that was around me: The crackling fire, the murmur of multiple conversations, the smell of roast turkey in the air, the cool bubbly-ness of the club soda I was drinking, the fresh scent of the lime slice I had in the glass.
And, lo, it was not as miserable as I'd been anticipating. When I added the lower-than-expected misery quotient to the pride I felt in my success- It really was not too bad an experience at all.
I thought I couldn't fly without having a glass or two of wine before getting on the plane. I was very nervous anticipating my first flight without alcohol, about 3 weeks into this 100 day challenge. I was prepared for, anticipating a tooth-clenching, shaky and sweaty flight. I treated myself to a new glossy magazine and boarded the flight. I mentally got a firm grip on the arm-rests, and we took off. When the drinks cart came by, I asked for a diet coke. An hour and a half later, we landed. Whoa, I said to myself. That was fast. And I realized I was no longer a nervous flier. How many years had I been self-medicating before flying- for what turned out to be a no-longer-active problem.
Another anticipation far worse than the reality. So now when I notice I am fearful/nervous in anticipation of a future event- I give myself a mental shake (picture one of my dogs coming in from the rain) and remind myself: Carrie, wait and see. Don't spend energy anticipating- just commit to the experience.
Carrie's New Event Anticipation Motto: "Cowards die many times before their deaths. The valiant never taste of death but once". Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
