Episode 74: The Habit Loop That's Keeping Your Stuck (And How to Break It)

What if the habit you rely on to “take the edge off” is actually the thing keeping you stuck?

In this episode of Main Street Success Stories, Jennifer Kok sits down with Cari Walters, a sober curious life coach, to explore the powerful connection between habits, emotions, and the way we cope as busy entrepreneurs.

Cari shares her personal journey from years of habitual drinking — not out of addiction, but out of routine — to becoming alcohol-free through a process of curiosity, awareness, and intentional change.

If you’ve ever reached for a glass of wine after a long day, scrolled your phone to unwind, or found yourself stuck in patterns that no longer serve you, this conversation will open your eyes in a powerful way.

Jennifer and Cari dive into:

• The difference between alcohol dependence and being “sober curious
• How everyday habits form through the cue → action → reward loop
• Why high-achieving entrepreneurs often avoid their emotions — and what it costs them
• A simple but powerful tool called The Pause to interrupt unhealthy patterns
• Cari’s “3 F’s” framework: How do I feel? How does this feed it? Can I find another way?
• Why breaking habits isn’t all-or-nothing — and how to embrace the “gray”
• How long it actually takes to build new habits (and why it’s longer than 21 days)
  
  

This episode is a powerful reminder that the habits you build are either working for you… or against you.

Meet Our Guest:
Cari Walters is a sober curious life coach who helps individuals move from autopilot habits to intentional living. With a background in education and years of experience working with people through behavior patterns, Cari guides clients to understand their emotions, interrupt habit loops, and build healthier ways to cope, unwind, and thrive.

Connect with Cari:
Website: sobercuriouslifecoaching.com
Instagram / Facebook / LinkedIn: Cari Walters – Sober Curious Life

Meet Your Host:
Jennifer Kok is a Profit & Growth Advisor and founder of Next Wave. A serial entrepreneur with more than 25 years of experience, she helps service-based women entrepreneurs increase profitability through financial clarity, strategic decision-making, and systems that support sustainable growth.  

www.nextwavebusinesscoaching.com

Focus Growth Collective
Author of Make Waves

If this episode made you pause and think about your own habits, share it with a friend who might need this conversation too.

And remember — awareness is the first step to real change.

My name is Jennifer Kok, and I’m a profit and growth advisor for service-based women entrepreneurs. I help women business owners make smarter, more strategic decisions so they can grow profitably, pay themselves consistently, and avoid burnout.

Because the truth is, business owners make decisions all day long, but the ones that really matter are often the hardest ones. Should I hire? Raise my prices? Invest in marketing? Let go of a draining client? Expand, or simplify?

Those decisions carry weight, and they can impact your time, your profit, your energy, and your long-term growth.

That’s why I created the Focused Growth Collective, a virtual mastermind for women business owners who want support making the kinds of decisions that move a business forward. Yes, we talk strategy, but we also look at the bigger picture like mental load, health, profit, and long-term sustainability.

My goal is to help women build businesses that pay them well, support their lives, and still feel worth leading 10 years from now.

Connect with me:
Website:
Facebook:
Instagram:
LinkedIn:
YouTube: 

Transcript

Jennifer Kok (00:00.558)

Welcome, Kerry, it's so fun to have you here today.

Cari (00:04.032)

It is so great to be here. Thank you for having me.

Jennifer Kok (00:07.906)

When you and I first met, I just really enjoyed getting to know you. You are a bright light and you really are so inspiring. And I know your focus is called sober curious life coaching. Before you started that, what were you doing?

Cari (00:22.744)

Yeah, before that I was running a couple of businesses actually through network marketing and direct sales. And so I was doing that and I was working with kids on the spectrum. So I was kind of doing both of those things at the same time. And then before that I was a special education teacher with emotionally impaired students who were in alternative education. So that's.

Jennifer Kok (00:50.094)

Wow, so you have a heart for really helping people. Those are jobs that require a lot of patience.

Cari (00:53.666)

Yeah. Yeah, that's what people say that I sometimes think I don't have a lot of patience, actually. I think I just have a system, maybe, of patience.

Jennifer Kok (01:05.482)

Isn't that funny? Yeah. And then when you get home, the patience is gone, right? So you started something. When did you start your life coaching business?

Cari (01:08.555)

Yes, yes.

Cari (01:16.398)

I started it three years ago during a time in my life where I decided that I was going to step into an alcohol-free life, but it took a process to get there called being sober curious. And so actually before I became a coach, I went through my own journey of getting curious with what alcohol looked like in my life.

And so I went down a road of being mindful about my drinking instead of just autopilot with drinking. And I started to ask a lot of questions and started to say, hey, you know, why do I grab a glass of wine at night? And why is that the best way to unwind? And I didn't quite understand why something so simple like a glass of wine could have me almost so stuck in

in this habitual loop that I found myself in. And so I know we were talking about this, the habitual loop being, you know, basically I found myself in, I had a cue in life. And I would say probably for almost two decades, the cue was my kids going to bed or coming home from work. And my cue was stepping in the door or my cue was my kids went to bed. And then I had like an action behind that. And that was me just not thinking about it.

I earned a glass of wine. I'm gonna have a glass of wine. The kids are in bed. I'm home from work. And so I grabbed a glass of wine. That was my action. And then the reward I received from that, that habit loop, the reward was, I feel relaxed now. Like, it takes the edge off. I'm feeling better. I get that 30 minutes of Zen. And when that's gone, cue, I feel a little bit of anxiety.

the kids are still in bed, I don't want to go to bed yet, my action, I'm just going to grab another glass of wine and my reward is, I'm going to take, it's going to take the edge off. And of course there's a lot behind that, but when I got curious and I went in with it for a year and a half, it was during the pandemic that I decided to kind of do that and after, but it wasn't because of the pandemic. I just had noticed seven years prior to 2020, I was in this habit loop that I just described. And so, yeah.

Jennifer Kok (03:32.268)

So you were in this phase of life where you're a busy mom, you're working, and so your relaxation became like what you said you would go to a glass of wine. But being sober curious, alcohol free, that's different than alcoholic, right? Can you help us understand the differences?

Cari (03:44.142)

Yeah.

Cari (03:52.098)

yeah. Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. And I believe there's a lot of belief systems around this at all, and my belief system, so if someone has alcohol use disorder or considered alcoholic, that means they're using it to function in life. And I don't even really like that term because I also think that kind of puts us down as a society, like something's wrong with you, and I just believe there's nothing wrong with you. It's just you found a way to cope with life.

And so even that term I'm not a huge fan of, but that's how I would describe alcohol use disorder or alcoholic is you can't live without it. It's how you function. And then someone that's sober curious, they've been through the habit loop. They notice that they're using wine to unwind or they're using a vice to help them kind of take the edge off. And they're wondering, how come I keep going to that?

and all of a sudden curiosity interrupts autopilot and we start to become more mindful of drinking. So it doesn't necessarily mean you're gonna quit drinking, but like you're curious. If I have a drink, what does happen? Okay, if I have two drinks, what happens? How do I feel? It's really learning in your sober curious journey to get the emotions behind it. Someone that is struggling and maybe needs a detox program.

You know that means they need to go someplace to be detoxed and get off the substance in a safe and healthy way and then go to what they call is rehab and rehab is just helping them learn to function again kind of as a human and how do I What works for me kind of thing and then? Which is very different from being sober curious because sober curious you're you're not dependent on the substance to function

Jennifer Kok (05:33.644)

OK, so it's more of just a habitual, like you just get in the habit of doing it. It's interesting because in the last couple of years, there's been a huge shift on social media. see it, especially in the younger generation, of becoming alcohol-free.

There's all these mocktails now and bars that are just offer mocktails. In fact, I had a client, she creates events and she does a pub crawl, but it's all mocktails. So she's creating really fun events around it. Where do think this is coming from?

Cari (06:06.402)

Yeah, it's coming from more of shifting our culture into what I would see as more awareness in the health industry and with science. Like we now have, I just remember 20 years ago, I wasn't thinking about getting protein in my coffee. I wasn't thinking about putting collagen in my coffee, right? Like, or in my Starbucks, which now Starbucks has protein, which has been a thing for a while, right? But 20 years ago, it wasn't, it was kind of,

Jennifer Kok (06:25.322)

Ha ha ha ha.

Cari (06:36.278)

I think a lot socially acceptable, like how we go out and how we socialize is we're drinking. And it was just very common knowledge, I think, 20 years ago. And we've shifted as a society of like, you know what, what I think there's more also social media, there's more, you can Google things and there's more information and science available to people to say, is alcohol good for me? And so I think this new generation, they're asking more questions than what I did.

Jennifer Kok (07:04.257)

Yeah, absolutely. And I think there's a lot of societal pressure too. You know, like my generation, it was very much so. Drinking in college, know, Friday night, Thursday nights even, Friday night, Saturday night, you would go out with friends and it would be weird to not pick up an alcoholic drink. And I...

You know, I'm a health nut and I love to, I still have, you know, alcoholic drinks, but I love to focus on protein and everything that I'm putting in my body. So I'm finding it really interesting. And I'm loving that I'm seeing the younger generation kind of embrace this healthier lifestyle. But like you said, it's a habit loop and you started talking about habit loops with the cue, the action, the reward. You know, as entrepreneurs, we're all really high achieving people and we're always striving for what's next. And because of that, we tend to.

Cari (07:29.422)

Yeah.

Cari (07:45.421)

Yes.

Cari (07:50.061)

Yeah.

Yes.

Jennifer Kok (07:54.305)

to put a lot of pressure on ourselves. And we have habits. Some of our habits are positive, where we get up early and we eat the frog and do the things that we're supposed to do. And then some of our habits are, you we avoid maybe a sales call or avoid something in our business that we don't want to. So how do you start to guide people through this habit loop? How do we kind of interrupt it, I guess?

Cari (07:56.098)

Yes.

Cari (08:20.898)

Yeah, I think there's a couple strategies I could share with everyone. And one that I just find that's really helpful and that I start every person that I get to work with is something called the pause. And that is just where we allow ourselves to pause and stop before we take an action. So it's interrupting that pattern. It's interrupting behavior patterns, thought patterns. And what I really like to say is thought patterns related to feelings.

Because our feelings is actually what is in our unconscious mind. It's actually stored away. We don't even know they're there until we bring awareness to it, until we pause and we bring curiosity and we open up our prefrontal cortex, which when we're drinking or doing a habit, we shut off our prefrontal cortex. We just do the action. We're on autopilot. But when we pause and we allow ourselves to think and say, okay, how am I feeling right now?

Like how am I feeling? Well, I feel really stressed out. Okay, how will alcohol feed this feeling? Or how will doom scrolling feed this feeling? You know, I had a stressful day at work and okay, how will alcohol feed it? Well, it'll probably help me feel less anxious, but I know I'll want another glass. And then I get curious after that pause and say, can we find another way to feel less stress and anxiety?

Can we find another way? Let's experiment with that. And going in with kind of being a scientist and pausing and saying, is it true that this vice that I have, is it really solving my problems? Is it really bringing me relief? And it's getting data around it, which is where the curiosity comes in. And it's using, I just give you guys a tactic and tool called the three Fs, which is we pause and you say, how do I feel right now?

How does alcohol or your vice feed this feeling? And then can I find another way? But we're doing this within like five, 10 minutes, right? And we're getting curious and usually there's an emotion under it. And I do think for high achievers, I know for me, I'm a high achiever. I don't want to feel my feelings because I have always felt like it'll keep me from achieving. Well, if I feel this way, I'm not gonna be able to achieve. I've got to push it down and keep going forward.

Cari (10:44.438)

when actually I needed to do the opposite. I needed to say, okay, Carrie, like, how do you feel? Why are you avoiding that? How are you feeling? Like, get your journal out of minute. But I had to make intentional systems and effort to do that because we're so, such an autopilot society where we just allow our habits and our, we allow ourselves to kind of numb out in a sense. But if we have these, this tool, the three F's, I find it to be pretty helpful as a great starting point for those listening and high achievers.

Jennifer Kok (11:15.252)

Absolutely, that's really interesting. And I like how you also talked about that's the way we're wired, right? Our brains. And that sometimes those patterns aren't there to serve us. You we always talk about the fight or flight and all the things that come into play when you're putting yourself out there as entrepreneurs tend to do. And that's scary.

Cari (11:35.906)

Yes, it is.

Jennifer Kok (11:38.007)

And so then we revert back to our comfort, the flight, like I'm not going to do it. Well, then what happens? Your business doesn't grow and all of that. So that's really interesting. And so I got to imagine its awareness. And we always say when you surround yourself with other people, that's how you can get the support and learn the awareness. then how long? Habits take a while to change. How long does this take?

Cari (11:49.388)

Yeah.

Jennifer Kok (12:04.012)

You know, I want my Amazon package tomorrow. So how long do I got to work at this, Gary?

Cari (12:04.504)

You

Cari (12:08.43)

my goodness, I love that. know, right? We're instant gratification. Can I have it tomorrow? Please? Yeah. Well, I mean, I'll take it from my own story, but I also in my coaching program, you know, I like to say it's going to take, I think it takes four to six months if you're very intentional, but a year, you know, to really build these patterns. It does take time. I'm not going to, I don't want to sugar coat it.

Jennifer Kok (12:12.777)

Alright!

Cari (12:31.726)

So it did take me a year and a half to build a system that worked for me to pause, to collect data, to ask myself these questions. And I'm finding my clients that are, you those that are, you're going to put in the work, which a lot of high achievers do. They're like, all right, Kerry, four months, got it. And we'll try to do it. And then we'll, we'll expect a little bit. And I'm like, great, let's start at four months because we want to get this done and over with. Right. But it does take time. I know there's research out there. takes 21 days to.

Jennifer Kok (12:50.412)

Right.

Cari (13:00.418)

build a habit, I truly believe that's just the beginning. Sure, that's building your system. Now it's doing it over and over again to a place where you feel like your authentic self, where you feel at the end of the day that you can shut off without that vice, where you feel like, now I'm living in peace. Now I'm living, I'm high achieving. I'm able to run this business and be an entrepreneur and I'm able to rest and I'm able to shut off. I think that takes some time.

Jennifer Kok (13:04.119)

Mm-hmm.

Cari (13:28.586)

It definitely took me a year and half to get to that point.

Jennifer Kok (13:33.4)

So someone comes to you, I know we're talking about habits in a lot of different languages here, but you really focus on the sober curious, which I love. And that was because that was your story. So people that are coming to you, give us an idea of what they're experiencing and why they pick up the phone and call you or send you a message and say, hey, I'd like to learn about your program.

Cari (13:55.916)

Yeah, they're usually experiencing a level of anxiety that they are medicating. So usually someone has anxiety that they're using something to kind of take the edge off and they notice that and they've been doing it for a while and it's no longer working for them and they're ready. They're ready to take action. They're ready for solutions and that's what I love about life coaching. So someone

is kind of at their lowest when they come and talk to me. They feel like there's not an answer or a way and they don't really, they feel hope but they're not sure how to get that hope to be their lifestyle. Like how do I walk something new, a new path and do it consistently over time? What tools do I need? So usually they're asking themselves a lot of questions. They're already kind of curious.

but they want solutions to their habit loops and they don't necessarily feel like a therapist or a program that's out there like a recovery program is their answer, just like it wasn't for me.

Jennifer Kok (15:10.689)

And so the first step is just kind of really uncovering what's causing the anxiety, like what's the next phase of your coaching?

Cari (15:17.229)

Yes.

Yeah, so we go through something called the path and we pause like I just had said before. So we pause in the first month or two of coaching, depending on how long the client and I are together. And we pause and we're asking questions. We're gathering data, drinking mindfully. We're asking questions about like,

Feelings of like what is underneath it and it's an emotion based program that I take my clients through so we're really getting curious with our emotions and I really want to Help the person in front of me go to the growth mindset and not that fixed mindset like go from shame To grace go from beating yourself up to self-compassion and we do that with pausing and really seeing like

our mindset and the data around what we do. And then we have an activation stage, which is called acting, where we learn this really cool technique in our brain and how we can train it in a new way with new patterns, with new habit loops. And then we, in that process, you begin the next phase, which is transforming your life. You all of a sudden now are taking it from like something you talk to your life coach about.

and mindset and now we're kind of like taking action and it's transforming and we are doing something new. And then the last stage is we're honing our story. So now it's just become something that we do, which is pausing and allowing ourselves to feel unwind in a new way at night, to feel peace and build those habits and patterns that are working for us and not against us. And you're starting to really, you're doing it so much that now it's the ripple effect and people are like,

Cari (17:01.942)

Hey, I kind of want to do that. Hey, that looks, how did you stop that? And people are now, they're kind of, you're honing your own story. And of course that's when I say, great, see you later. Go on your way and go change the world, you know?

Jennifer Kok (17:04.909)

Right.

Jennifer Kok (17:14.287)

Yeah, and it's so you're so right people are attracted by not what you say but how you show up and so you will start to get some in curious, know curious lurkers that are like, what are you up to? What's going on? You seem lighter, healthier. so is that an all or does it have to be an all or nothing approach when you are creating habits and breaking habits?

Cari (17:27.438)

Yeah.

Cari (17:31.694)

Yeah.

Cari (17:38.79)

no, that absolutely not. Like I think that's actually something that can be difficult for a high achiever is it's a lot of gray coaching and learning new habits. There's a lot of gray and I, and in the programming that I get to do it's gray because I believe there's so much to learn in the gray. And I had to train myself in that too, that not to be afraid of the gray, that there may not be answers.

but to embrace that maybe you don't have answers, but as time goes on, you will start to develop them by the data that you have. So by the mindful drinking that you do, by the days that you have a 30 day alcohol free break maybe, or you have a break from that vice. We're gonna take data on it and look at it in love and self compassion. And so I think that it's not all or nothing. It's more just showing up on a weekly and daily basis as you can without guilt and shame.

Jennifer Kok (18:29.708)

So when you started changing your habits and you were no longer reaching for a glass of wine after a long day, what were some things that you filled it with?

Cari (18:38.924)

Yeah, I filled my cup with all kinds of stuff at first because I truly believe there's something in that action of grabbing a glass of wine that feels really good. And when you're used to it, it's like, just wanted the glass in my hand. And so I just, I was really simple. not, I like mocktails. I have my favorite mocktails, but I first filled it up with just sparkling water. And then sometimes I would make a fancy like mocktail that I would find on Pinterest or from someone that I was following.

And I love Zivia. I found that I like a little bubbly. It's kind of like a little soda or poppy. But that's what I did right at the beginning. As I just first started with the glass, I filled it with something different and I started from there. And then I was like, huh, why do I like this glass so much? Why do I? And I started asking more questions because it is truly getting curious as to, why did that cups mean so much to me? And so I...

Jennifer Kok (19:33.562)

You know, that's interesting you say that because my vice is sugar. And so, you know, in the afternoon, I want a cup of tea and a cookie. And now that you say that, I think it's because that was what my mother did. You know, my mother.

Cari (19:36.864)

Okay.

Cari (19:41.484)

Yeah. Yeah.

Jennifer Kok (19:47.364)

was British, my family were British, and she drank tea in the afternoon with biscuits, you know, and think of those yummy biscotti cookies that we get on the Delta airline. And I think that's where that comes from. And it's really hard for me to break that habit. Like, you know, we're recording in the afternoon and after this, I would love to go get a cup of tea or a cup of coffee and something sweet. And I never thought about it until you just said that. So that's really interesting.

Cari (19:57.036)

Yes.

Yeah.

Cari (20:08.202)

Absolutely.

Cari (20:13.134)

Yeah, that is what we call making meaning out of things, right? And so you just made meaning out of the habit. And that is what I did too. I had to make meaning out of it. And so thank you for sharing that. love that you had that moment and you know, take some data on it. Like, and maybe you're okay with it, right? Like coffee is not going to be, it's not, it's an addictive substance in its own way, but I just got to tell you now, I love my coffee. Sure, sure.

Jennifer Kok (20:36.301)

Right? Well, it's the sugar I need to find, you know, go sit with an apple, I guess, and a cup of coffee.

Cari (20:43.758)

It doesn't have the same meaning, does it? Right? Yeah. Yeah. So I love that. It doesn't. It doesn't. But it's getting curious. And it's almost like, well, when is it a time that I can have that I get to enjoy? I always like to say to my friends, we get to do things. I get to enjoy my coffee and my cookie. Like, when do I get that? Oh, maybe it's when you want to connect with your past now that you know the meaning about it. Maybe it's, you know,

Jennifer Kok (20:46.767)

Doesn't sound as good.

Cari (21:10.368)

on a Sunday, maybe that would be special to you. And okay, so do that. And it's giving yourself permission also to say what is for you and what's not.

Jennifer Kok (21:21.357)

Yeah, and I like that. Maybe it's once a week, not every day, that type of a mindset. So let's go back to the alcohol, because I think that's such a hot topic right now, and people giving up alcohol. What are some of the health benefits when you live a alcohol-free life? And how long does it usually take to start seeing some of those benefits?

Cari (21:40.779)

Okay.

Cari (21:44.897)

Yeah, so this is one I feel like lot of your people are going to love here as entrepreneurs and those that are looking for instant results. It happens for some. happens. I mean, it happens for a lot of people is actually you lose weight. Yeah, after a 30 day break, actually, you're going to lose some weight. It's a toxin, right? Alcohol is ethanol. It's what we put in our gas tank. So I know it's a little like

Jennifer Kok (22:01.286)

okay.

Cari (22:14.368)

Alarming right but when I learned that I was like, wow So like I'm putting toxins in my body and so what happens is you're gonna be inflamed You're gonna have a puffy face if you have a night of drinking wine And I have a lot of before and after pictures on my social media platforms that people can go look at there was a big difference when I was drinking every night my two or three glasses of wine and then being alcohol-free so your anti-inflammatory when you're alcohol-free so your

Jennifer Kok (22:15.439)

Yeah.

Cari (22:40.354)

you instantly, like, I feel like look thinner. And I lost 10 pounds. You're gonna lose weight, because that toxin is not gonna be in your body. And then also your anxiety is gonna decrease. So alcohol is a stimulant and a depressant. And so first, you know, it stimulate, like you're like, I'm relaxed. We get that relief, you know, that habit reward at the end. And then actually,

Jennifer Kok (22:44.217)

Wow.

Cari (23:09.186)

gives you anxiety. It gives you anxiety. It gives you not only a chemical release of serotonin, but now a chemical release of cortisol. And so that is why people wake up often after a night of drinking with anxiety. Because depending on how many drinks, that's how high your cortisol is going to be in the morning.

Jennifer Kok (23:26.991)

that's interesting. I didn't know those two correlated. know, you know, a lot of times people say they don't sleep well if they have quite a few drinks, you know, it interrupts their sleep pattern, but now we know a little bit of why.

Cari (23:30.446)

Yes. Correct. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Yep. And it's very common. And I had it too, where I would wake up at 3am. So what happens is you are sort of when you have a couple of drinks, a lot of people say I use alcohol to sleep, to go to sleep, right? It's like, yeah.

you know, it's gonna put you in the serotonin, this chemical release of feeling good, and then you're gonna wake up at two or three like I did, and I know a lot of people do, and then you go to the bathroom and you might feel wide awake. Well, you've actually never trained your brain to sleep. And so one of the common things that when I work with people is they're actually just learning new patterns of how to put yourself to sleep. And I had to learn that as well. But in the middle of the night, you wake up after drinking at 3 a.m. and you might...

Jennifer Kok (24:15.352)

Okay.

Cari (24:22.038)

It might take you an hour to get back to sleep because why you're trying to go to sleep now before you had a substance help you in a chemical release and a toxin release, well now the natural hormones want to come out and you're still detoxing. So it's harder for your body to release natural serotonin to go to sleep, which is why it can be hard to get back to sleep. Hopefully that all made sense.

Jennifer Kok (24:44.951)

Yeah, no, that's good stuff. So in addition to losing weight and inflammation reducing, which that is huge, what are some other benefits? I feel like skin.

Cari (24:51.885)

Yeah.

Cari (24:56.302)

Oh yeah, so you get an instant glow, which is so cool. Your skin will be glowing. I kind of tell people there's your skincare routine is when you go alcohol free, you have a great skincare routine and your pimples will reduce just because of the toxin and your eyes will start to glow. There is a big difference in my eyes. Eyes that have alcohol use on a more regular basis are a little more dim.

and not as bright. And you can again go see my pictures on social media and then just after I would say a week of being alcohol free your eyes are brightened and your skin gets a little bit better and then after 30 days you're going to start losing weight and then you're going to start feeling less anxious because you've detoxed and you're now learning how to put yourself to sleep and you're learning how to not have as much cortisol in your body and that's

really feels good.

Jennifer Kok (25:56.24)

So you're basically just like feeding one positive thing after another and it kind of these results show up over time.

Cari (26:04.118)

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, and you're actually, your blood pressure is also gonna go down. So you have increased blood pressure and a lot of people will have high cholesterol. So it will also reduce your cholesterol and your blood pressure numbers.

Jennifer Kok (26:20.729)

So any tips for people that are kind of, you know, tiptoeing around this, they're curious about it, they want to maybe incorporate an alcohol-free life a little bit more, but it's tough society-wise. Like everyone at the family holidays, all your friends, you know, how do you navigate that side of it?

Cari (26:26.243)

Yeah.

Cari (26:40.684)

Yeah, so the best tip and the one that I use myself is I bring my own beverages and no matter what, just at the beginning, bring your own beverages, bring your own little cooler, have the cute cozy that you like, have the cute cup. Someone says, can I make you a drink? Be like, I would love to have a drink here. Open mine. Let's put it in a glass. And a lot of us want to say, you know,

no, I'm not drinking, I'm on a break right now, but I just want to reframe that and say, actually you get to drink every single day. You're just not drinking alcohol. So yeah, I'd love to have a drink. Here, let's pour this.

Jennifer Kok (27:16.303)

That's a great reframe, because you're right. The 30 days in January, everyone's all there. Everyone's on board for it. We all talk about it. We're all wearing it like a badge of honor. Oh, I'm on day 21, day 28. But then after that, we start to go back to our old patterns, old habits. And a lot of it, I do believe, is the pressure of the friends or whoever you hang out with and that their negative impact on you. That's just what you've done with them. So to be the Debbie Downer and be like, I don't want to.

Cari (27:26.061)

Yes.

Cari (27:41.718)

Yes.

Jennifer Kok (27:46.424)

I love your reframe.

Cari (27:46.542)

Yeah, yeah, it's like actually I get to drink as much as I want or not as I can and yeah, I'd love a drink and here I brought my own or yeah, I'd love a drink. Can you do some, you know, ginger beer and some cranberry juice? actually I brought it. Yeah, I think that I also had to get curious with that, right? And take data around that everyone's different. Some people actually like to say, hey, I'm living alcohol free right now.

And so I'm going to have something else. Some people are empowered by that, right? And so I say, whatever you feel empowered by, that's what you say.

Jennifer Kok (28:25.049)

That's awesome. Well, you are definitely in a movement. You know, we've been watching this movement happen. I feel like you were started at before it became trendy and it's obviously very impactful. Your clients are getting amazing, you know, new habits and a new lifestyle because of working with you. So where is the best place for someone to learn more about your program and to start learning how to handle the, the habit, interruptors and all of that, that you teach.

Cari (28:28.621)

Thank you.

Cari (28:34.368)

I appreciate it.

Cari (28:53.836)

Yeah, yeah, that's great. You can go to my website, sobercuriouslifecoaching.com, and you can go to all social media platforms, and that would be LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Sober Curious Life, my name, Keri Walters. You will find it there. You can just Google it and you'll find it. And also, sobercuriouslifecoach.com.

Jennifer Kok (29:17.367)

Well, I will put those links in the show note and I really encourage people to kind of sit with this and think about where alcohol plays in their daily life or their weekly life and and reach out to you to have this conversation about if they are curious about learning how to take the next step. Thank you so much for sharing this all your information today.

Cari (29:23.234)

Love.

Cari (29:37.75)

You're welcome. Thanks for having me, Jennifer. It was so much fun.