I’m gonna elaborate more than I care to here, but here goes.
I’ve been getting into decent physical shape and was on a diet of sorts. Garbage in = garbage out. Decided I ought to cut out garbage. 15 years of drinking near every day got me thinking alcohol ought to take a rest. I’ve always had an ‘off’ switch, it was just a shitty routine.
Then I started coming across guys who’d had alcohol destroy their lives and their families. I’d hear things like:
- “my best friend drank himself to death by 45. Chose the bottle over his business, wife, and kids.”
- “you wonder why an alcoholic can’t just stop drinking. An alcoholic wonders how you’re able to go all day without drinking.”
- “I’ll never quit drinking, even if it kills me.”
- “my first wife was an alcoholic...”
When you go down the rabbit hole and catch a glimpse of the utter misery and destruction in an alcoholic’s life, it’s really eye opening. I’m not an alcoholic and can’t relate, but it made me realize that my ability to simply not drink, with virtually no effort, is a gift that I’m wasting every day that I’m drinking. Imagine possessing a super power and never using it... because you’d rather hang out and drink beer.
So I quit drinking, for now anyway. Im back to my high school pants size but now I can run like a mother fucker.
This is good stuff. Really. Lot of truth here.
When I first quit, I spent a lot of time in AA meetings. Met a lot of people. Some were bonkers, some were just like me. Some were far smarter than me, but lost everything. I'm talking both, highly educated people, and people who had tons of experience living. Alcohol can be the great equalizer.
I remember one thing someone said to me (I forget who...). Think about this. Be honest. In the afternoon, when you first start thinking about "rewarding yourself" with the first drink of the day, does your mouth water? Do you
really look forward to it? I sure did. If that's the case, that's a pretty clear sign.
What bedwetter said above, about being able to completely take or leave alcohol, I can barely comprehend. My only frame of reference for such a thing, would be the casino. I understand some people have troubles with gambling. I'm glad I don't. But oh man, booze.
So, what I said early on, in this thread, applies too. People will be your best cheerleader right now. For a while. A day or a week or a month, or 5 years. But eventually you're going to have to stand on your own, against temptation. Do this for yourself, not your wife or kids or boss or brother or whatever... do it for yourself. You won't be sorry. I have pretty much never, if I'm being really honest, seen a family or relationship better, because of alcohol.