A Personal Story: Striking a Balance with Alcohol

A personal journey that has led to significant life changes – that's the story I, Beckah, am eager to share with you on this episode of BWB. Have you ever found yourself questioning your relationship with alcohol, pondering the benefits of reducing your alcohol consumption or even entertaining the thought of a 'Sober October' or 'Dry January'? This episode might just be the nudge you need. 

Last year, I decided to alter my drinking habits, not completely giving it up, but finding a balance that worked for me. In this episode, I share how this decision paved the way for a year filled with enriching experiences, personal growth, and self-realization. Listen in as I candidly discuss the highs and lows of my journey, the newfound confidence and clarity, and the liberation I've felt from breaking free from the shackles of alcohol dependence. Whether you’re looking to break your own habits or you're just curious, this episode provides practical tips and insights that might inspire you to embark on this journey of self-improvement and healthy living.

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:00

Welcome to the BWB podcast, balancing with Becca. I'm Becca, I'm in my 50s and I'm still trying to find balance in all of the ways. If you're looking to balance your relationships, your food, your fitness, your lifestyles, join me here on the BWB podcast. Let's get started. Hi Balance Babes.

Speaker 1 0:33

Yesterday marked a year since I decided that I didn't want to be a drinker any longer. It's been a year of a lot of experiences that I've had to navigate through without alcohol. It's also been a year of focusing on so much more of my future and having a clear mind and an open heart and an open mind to be able to become more creative and focused on my future. I don't think that I ever really knew what I was actually capable of doing in my life until this year. This year has been a year of growth, especially mental growth. This year has been a year of finding a humbleness that I didn't realize I had. It's been a year of finding confidence that is real. It's real to me. It's been a year of traveling without alcohol. It's been a year of sitting with my thoughts and sitting with myself in both happy and sad moments, and not turning to alcohol. It's been a year of no numbing whatsoever in any situation. First it seemed like time was going by so slow, so much more slowly than when I filled my weekends or evenings with wine or cocktails. But as I look back on this year, I realize that I actually remember the whole year. There's no moments that I don't remember. That were important and good ones. I feel so proud of myself. I feel so much better when I look at myself in the mirror. I feel like I'm learning who I truly am, and it's not that I'll never drink again. I've found that balance. It's not that I quit drinking entirely. It's that I don't think about drinking any longer. I don't plan my evenings or my dinners or my weekends or my vacations around drinking any longer. It honestly rarely even occurs to me on any given day. It's not that I'm not a drinker any longer. I'm just not a person who drinks alcohol on a weekly or daily basis any longer.

Speaker 1 2:47

I am now one of those persons who may have a glass of champagne at a celebration. I am one of those persons who may have a cold beer at some point in my life or a glass of wine on vacation, like I did on this vacation. I'm no longer that person that goes to parties and knows that I'm going to feel like crap the next day, but I'm going to do it anyways, because I think it's worth it. I'm now one of those people who know that every single morning I'm going to wake up and I'm going to feel normal and, for the most part, I'm going to feel good. I no longer have social anxiety and feel like I need to have a drink or two before I go somewhere in order to be the person that I think I am. I am the person that I am naturally, organically. I love the freedom that I have in my life now because I'm not consumed with anything that puts a ball and chain on my ankle. I can just be who I want to be in the moment. I can be me. I can feel all of the feels in an organic way.

Speaker 1 3:58

I can't begin to explain how good I feel about my decision to quit drinking or to quit being an actual drinker. I feel so satisfied and so good and so confident. I never got this feeling from alcohol. I finally followed my intuition, that intuition that kept telling me every single night when I'd wake up in the middle of the night to stop drinking. Why are you drinking, even if it was just a couple of drinks or a couple glasses of wine, my intuition was telling me, my intuition was screaming at me actually to stop. Stop it now. I finally listened and I feel so happy and satisfied. I don't have one single regret. In fact, I have zero regret about this decision. I've had only good experiences that have come from this decision. Nothing bad. There's been no negative repercussions from the decision to stop drinking.

Speaker 1 5:01

Now that the year has passed on the calendar, I'm not going to think about how long it's been since I've had a drink. I'm not going to care about that anymore. I'm not going to keep track. I'm not going to celebrate milestones to the public. I'm just going to know that I'm not a drinker any longer and for that I'm going to feel proud of myself. It's a journey. It's a very personal journey. I chose to make it public because I needed that accountability, but I no longer need that accountability. I know who I am and I know what I will and will not put up with any longer. It's also been a year of me knowing how proud my kids are of me for doing this, for showing them that we are stronger than we think. Showing them that anything is possible, showing my kids that they can trust me and that I do what I say I'm going to do when showing them balance. Balance with your habits, keeping everything in moderation, enjoying life, enjoying the little things, enjoying the fact that if my son is having mimosas, that I can have a mimosa with them, but I don't need to have five, I can have one or two if I want to.

Speaker 1 6:18

I had a few glasses of wine on my vacation with my dinner, a few being two, but I didn't feel like drinking. Once I got home and I've been to a brunch and didn't have champagne, didn't feel like it. Haven't had any drinks at dinner since I've been home, but on my vacation I decided that I wanted to have a glass of wine with my steak and I did. I can't imagine drinking a cocktail again just because in my mind I just can't. I don't know what it is about hard alcohol that I just don't want to have anything to do with anymore. That's okay. I know that I will never be the person that I used to be, because I understand myself so much more through this year, through all of the ups and downs that I've had this year, I know myself better than I've ever known myself, when I actually like who I am, when I look in the mirror and I give myself that high five. I'm proud of myself and I like who I am. I love the possibilities in my future. I am focused, I am happy, I am content and I'm satisfied, and that's because I gave myself this year to stop drinking. Now I did have a few I can count them on my hands, the few drinks that I've had this year. But that's okay, that's fine, that's for me, that's fine for me and I'm okay with that. But I'm not obsessing about it any longer and I want to just tell you that thank you. I want to say thank you for those of you who have followed this journey with me. Thank you so much for all of the support. I'm really happy about it.

Speaker 1 8:23

And if you're curious about going on a journey like this, do a sober month. Do sober October, do a dry January. Pick a cute little name for the month. Get your friends together and tell them we're going to do this challenge. We're going to do a 30 or 31 day challenge of no alcohol and see how you feel. It's okay to do those challenges. It's actually good for you. Give your body a break.

Speaker 1 8:51

With all of this said, guys, thank you so much for coming on this journey with me. I'm going to continue it. I'm just going to continue it in my own way. But I did want to talk about it because it has been a year and I'm so proud of myself I really am. I did it and I'm going to probably continue to do it because I know how good I feel and I understand so much more about this journey. I understand so much more about feeling good and how focused you can be. So give it a try. That's all I have for you today. A little short but sweet podcast today. Get on that sober month. October's right here, it's right around the corner. Sober October, guys. Let's do it. Bye for now. Thanks for listening. Thank you, friends, for joining me on the BWB podcast Balancing with Becca. Until next time, keep on balancing, babes.