Experiencing life without it could be the best decision you’ve ever made.
“At the end of the day, let there be no excuses, no explanations, no regrets.” Steve Maraboli
A few weeks ago, I wrote about Anne Hathaway’s decision to stop drinking alcohol because she wanted to be a better mom to her toddler son.
This article seemed to register with a number of people for a few reasons:
One: Anne Hathway is a celebrity, and people generally like to read about things famous people do, and
Two: Anne didn’t make the decision based on a feeling she had any major problem with alcohol but because she just felt it wasn’t allowing her to be the best version of herself possible.
She has discussed the benefits of it in various articles in the past and so far feels a bit “irritated by how well it’s going.”
This decision to stop drinking alcohol for reasons other than having a problem with it appears to be a new phenomenon that is starting to gain momentum.
You can just look here on Medium and read a number of articles about individuals journaling “I took a (insert arbitrary length of time) break from alcohol, and here’s what happened.”
Many of these articles are written by individuals who typically write about various self-help or productivity hacks. They share their reasoning behind taking a break, what they discovered in that length of time, and then if they are going to keep abstaining or go back to drinking.
It’s interesting because the breakdown of those who decide to continue to abstain versus those who decide to go back to drinking is probably broken up in 3rds, with a third saying they won’t go back, another third saying they will, and the last 3rd being unsure.
Regardless of their final decision, however, it is undeniable that they ALL espouse the number of positive ways that the decision to give up alcohol affected their lives, and that’s why I think it’s something that everyone should give a try just once for three reasons.
1. IT CAN’T HURT
This is just based on the fact that it has been scientifically proven drinking excessive amounts of alcohol is not helping our health as much as hurting it.
Now, if you are one of those people who are able to only drink the recommended one to two glasses per day, then this may not directly relate to you.
However, if you fall into that category of people who consistently go over that amount (I would guess this is a fair amount of people who drink), then your body could use taking a break for a number of beneficial health reasons if nothing else.
For this reason, why not take a 30, 60, or 90-day break from alcohol just to see if you experience any of the benefits outlined with doing so?
For some people, nothing may change and then they can easily say that drinking doesn’t help them in any way, but the chances of anyone’s health getting worse because they decided to stop drinking for a finite amount of time are probably slim to none.
2. YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW
As the famous Forest Gump saying goes, “My momma always said, life was like a box of chocolates.” Therefore, perhaps the only way to truly know if something is the missing piece that you’ve been searching for is to give it a whirl.
I started drinking when I was 19, and it wasn’t until I was 32 that I gave myself a shot to try to go 90 days without doing it.
During those 90 days, I was still able to have fun with my friends, enjoy nights out on the town, and was way more productive than usual.
That always stuck with me as something I should consider long-term.
I also began experiencing some of the mental clarity that so many people talk about and noticed a difference in how I was able to comprehend and process so many things.
And even though I decided to go back to drinking during that time, fast forward six years later, it was this first break that helped me make the decision to do it once and for all.
This decision was related to the last reason I think everyone should give it a try.
3. LIFE’S SHORT…TRY NEW SH*T
The average life expectancy for both sexes is 73.2 years, and while this may seem like a long time, it can go pretty fast when you’re living in the fast lane and partying pretty hard.
When I turned 38, I thought about all I had done and all that I still wanted to do and just realized that I wasn’t getting any younger.
Therefore, if I wanted to see if there was another level to myself and just life in general, giving up alcohol for a while was a decision I had to make just so I had no regrets.
Similar to my original decision to drink and party hard was about experiencing all that life had to offer, I felt I had to know what life was like WITHOUT alcohol to truly feel like I gave myself the best chance of living it to the max on all fronts.
Therefore, as my 30 days turned into 90 days again, and then those 90 days turned into a record of six months, I began to experience the compounded effect not drinking was having on my ability to do so many things so much better.
It was then I knew this was a life that I had to continue to explore for all the things it was offering me that my previous one did not.
And while I can’t say that this will be the same for you, don’t you think it would be worth it to take a break for a while to see, so you can truly know?