Quick Start Preparation Course (FREE)

Download our Quick Start Preparation course as our FREE gift to help you stop drinking alcohol and get the best start to your new life. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD.

How to start to stop drinking alcohol?

by | Questions | 1 comment


(0.10) Making the first move
(0.26) Other questions
(0.45) I get it!
(1.30) 1 day at a time
(1.59) What are you gonna do?
(2.47) Avoid temptations
(3.17) Join a forum
(4.00) Keep it simple

One of the biggest roadblocks that you’ll need to overcome on your journey to quitting drinking is making the first move in the right direction. If you’re asking the question “How do I start to stop drinking alcohol!”, you’re already half-way there.

Some other questions you may have might be:

  • “When do I begin?”
  • “Where should I be when I stop drinking?”
  • “How do I tell my family and friends that I have a drinking problem?”
  • “Do I really have a drinking problem?”
  • “Can’t I just cut down, I’m a smart guy, I know that drinking too much is not good for me, I’ll just take fewer drinks, or just drink at the weekends?”

I Was Right There!

I know where you’re coming from, I’ve been there!

I kept putting off the day. I kept telling myself that it was not the alcohol that was the problem, it was me, I just couldn’t get control of it…now if I could just do [add your own verb here] I would be ok, problem solved…

…For the REST of my Freaking Life?????

You must come to terms with the fact that there is no solution other than stopping. There’s no way to control it, there’s no reason to control it!

You stop drinking by not having any more…it’s that simple…

And, you stop for the rest of your life…

How horrible does that sound?

To do, or not to do, anything for the rest of your life is a daunting thought at best.

I used to get a recurring dream that I was in a forest with an axe. I was told that I would have to chop down every tree in the forest, one after the other, to save my family. I kept hacking at the trees, knocking them down one after the other. I stopped to rest and looked behind me. To my horror, I saw that every tree was back as it had been, I was in a never ending forest, and I would be in the forest forever chopping and chopping.

I think that’s sort of the feeling most people get when they’re told that they will have to do anything for the rest of their lives.

Overweight people who are trying to lose weight get the feeling when they are told that they can ever eat chocolate again, or they can never eat a burger again…OH MY GOD!

So, how exactly are you supposed to handle such a monumental challenge???

There’s No Need To Rush

You begin with one step at a time, one day at a time…

“A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins With One Step”  Lao Tzu

I know it sounds corny and very clichéd, but like most clichés, it also happens to be very true. If you take any seemingly insurmountable task, and break it down into smaller steps it becomes much more manageable…

And, that includes giving up alcohol. You can only take it one day at a time.

Think about it for a minute…You can only live one day at time, one moment at a time to be precise.

Don’t worry about what you did yesterday, you can do bugger all about that… it’s done and dusted…all gone!

By the same standards, you have no control about what happens tomorrow, or in an hour from now, or in a minute from now. So, don’t worry about it!

Challenge Yourself to 30 Days!

Say to yourself…

“I’m going stop drinking for 30 days, I can do 30 days. And when those 30 days are up I will look at things again.”

You will feel so much better after these first 30 days…

Then you can go on to your next 30 days….

And your next 30 days after that…

Eventually, you’ll forget about the counting the days, or the weeks, or the months, you’ll even forget how long it’s been since you’ve had a drink…you won’t care…

Start looking at alcohol for what it really is…a poison…and choose not to swallow any more of it…

“A Goal Without a Plan Is Just a Wish!”

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Before you stop, think about what you’re going to do with your time. Don’t just sit around twiddling your thumbs waiting for bedtime to come so you can sleep and get this horrible day over with…

Plan out how you are going to spend the day…ask yourself

  • Do you need to go to work?
  • Will you exercise?
  • What are you going to drink?
  • What are you going to eat?
  • What are you going to do if you have a problem?
  • What makes you crave a drink?
  • What triggers the desire to hit the bottle?
  • What alternative action can you take that will snap you out of those trains of thought?

Temptations and Help!

Get all alcoholic drinks out of the house…don’t give yourself the temptation…

Make it extremely difficult to get your hands on any alcohol… go so far as to have no money in the house so you’ll have to ask someone else for a sub or at least take a trip to the local cash point before you go to the liquor store…

You should join a forum with people who are on the same journey, somewhere you can go and share your story and get advice…share your worries and fears, your hopes and ambitions, all without anyone knowing who you are, without any judgements…

I’d recommend netwarriors.org…it’s been around for a few years, so many of its members have been around the block and really know what they’re talking about. They’re men and women who come from all walks of life, and are all at different stages of their journey, so you can learn a lot, as well as getting lots of advice and solid support.

K.I.S.S.

Above all, keep it simple…Don’t try to add any complications to your decision to quit.

Everyone is unique. We all go through a different process…not only physically and psychologically, but also in the ways we react to alcohol…

Don’t assume it’s going to be difficult…

Have confidence in yourself and your abilities.

You’re worst day sober can never be as bad as when you’re drunk…!

The Rundown

The best place to start your journey is by thinking carefully about your triggers and what you’re gonna do about them.

Think about the changes you are going to make to instil the new habits into your life.

Get rid of all alcohol from your home, make it difficult to get more, and take things one day at a time over an initial 30 day period.

Get onto a forum and open up some conversations with like-minded people…you’ll not regret that!

Above all, you should believe in yourself.

1 Comment

  1. Philip Wharton

    I am on day 2 of not drinking after ruining a relationship, losing a job, spending all my money, losing a phone and a coat.

    This has come as a great source of help and I will keep track of the new videos.

    Thanks

    Phil

    Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.