Kansas Crimson

digitalkookie wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 10:22 am Congrats Trad!!!

My wife hit 3 years in August. It was a struggle for her at first, however, she has since taken others down the path of sobriety with her.

Me, not so much

Wiff wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 12:04 pm
After I cut it out entirely, I started to see the world through a different lens. It sounds really cheesy, but I started "noticing" little things like the color of the trees and how beautiful the leaves looked in the breeze.

Wiff wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 12:04 pm Congrats, Trad!

I posted about this somewhere else, but can't remember where now. I started out with the goal of just cutting out booze for 30 days, just to see how I felt. That 30-day experiment taught me so much more about myself than I ever could have imagined. Although I never considered drinking to be a "problem" for me, it turns out it actually was a problem for me - and a fairly significant problem, in fact. I found out it was negatively impacting my focus at work, my sleep, my anxiety levels, my stress, my stamina with exercise - really too many areas to list. It's amazing what a difference cutting out just one thing can make in pretty much every aspect of your life. And I never would have even known how good I could actually be in all of those areas had I not given it a go. I was only able to see it as a problem when I finally found the discipline to temporarily remove it from my life.

After I cut it out entirely, I started to see the world through a different lens. It sounds really cheesy, but I started "noticing" little things like the color of the trees and how beautiful the leaves looked in the breeze. I was telling my friend who was also interested in quitting that I could only compare it to what it's like being on a departing flight from a city with cloudy, rainy weather - and then having that moment where the plane rises up above those gray clouds, and you finally see the gorgeous blue sky that you almost forgot was even there. You really start to feel more "present" in your surroundings.

Although people can tell you what its like over and over and over again, you never truly "see" it until you do the work to find out for yourself. And if you do, it truly is amazing. That initial 30 days has now essentially turned into an indefinite hiatus from booze for me, and I honestly don't know if I'll ever go back. The further and further I get away from it, the more I get to evaluate it with a clear mind. And once you see it for what it really is, it's really hard to see the point or benefit of continuing to drink.

In any event, sorry for the long-winded anecdote, but congrats on the achievement, Trad! A whole year is a huge accomplishment and is a tough feat, even if drinking was never a "problem" for you. You should be really proud of yourself.

KUTradition wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 9:45 am i’ve had an easier go of it than the wife, but i’m sure it’s easier since we have “replacements”

there is something to be said for the physical act of cracking open a cold one after a rough day but surprisingly enough, a nice bottle of root beer goes a long way to scratching that itch

twocoach wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 12:12 pm Cutting the maybe 4 beers a week I drink out of my life probably won't result in me finally noticing the color of the trees around me.

Wiff wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 1:17 pm

twocoach wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 12:12 pm Cutting the maybe 4 beers a week I drink out of my life probably won't result in me finally noticing the color of the trees around me.

Trust me, there are trees around you that you don't even know are there.